Good Things Aren't Meant to Last
by Meri Umeko
Summary: COMPLETE. On a trip to Konohagakure, Itachi and Kisame encounter a talkative eight year old. Story starts two years later, after time skip. Please review! Rated T for language later on.
1. Simple Beginnings

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto. **_**It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"_Have you gotten a little taller?" Itachi asked, looking at the boy facing him from across the room. Although his face was obscured by the darkness, making any of defining features disappear, the boy's eyes betrayed him. He glared with intense hatred at Itachi, his fists tightening at his sides._

"_...you haven't changed at all," the boy muttered quickly, as if he couldn't keep the words in any longer. "You still have those heartless, cold eyes of yours."_

_There was a short pause, during which the two young men merely stared at one another in dead silence. Finally, Itachi asked, "Aren't you going to yell and run at me like last time?"_

_The boy started chuckling under his breath almost immediately after Itachi had finished his assumption. A bright, ghostly light appeared out of nowhere and lit up his face, contorting his features and making him seem to appear from out of a nightmare. Instead of rounding on the other man, he turned swiftly on his heel and eyed the girl, gripping his katana in his hand. _

_As he approached her, he enjoyed the fear that was clearly written on her face. _"_I'm going to kill you now," he told her when he had finally reached her, leaning forward to whisper it in her ear. "And I assure you, it is going to be very...very...painful."_

Elva jolted awake, breathing heavily. This was the fourth time this month she had had that dream. It always began the same way – the boy talking to her father, Itachi, in an almost conversational tone. Just talking. Then suddenly, at the exact moment he had the opportunity to kill him, the boy instead whirled around to face Elva, preparing to kill her before she had the chance to stop him. But then she would always wake up.

She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them, trying and failing many times to slow her breathing and calm herself down. Each time she would get so close to achieving her goal, but then the picture of the boy's face would flash in her mind, and she would tighten her grip around her knees and get scared all over again.

After what seemed like forever, Elva told herself what she had told herself every time this happened before in the recent weeks: _Elva, you're being ridiculous. Get up and get to the academy. This isn't the time to be fooling around._

She had to repeat this several times to force herself to do so. Elva got out of bed hesitantly and went to her closet, slipping on a red shirt with a wide collar and plain, dark khaki shorts. She walked into the bathroom across the hall, running a brush through her long, black hair once before pulling it all into a high ponytail. She stopped to look at herself in the mirror, and instantly felt a frown tugging at her lips.

It wasn't that Elva was vain or anything. In fact, she hated how she looked. It wasn't that she was ugly, nor was she beautiful, or anything close to it. She was ordinary, and that even wasn't what she hated so much about herself. She was perfectly fine with her hair; it could get unmanageable and tangled sometimes, but there was nothing horrible about it. She had bangs that, for the most part, she liked, unless they became too long. It was her eyes that she hated.

They were violet. Not a shade that could be mistaken for being blue in a different light. These were a bright and very distinct violet – a definite purple. It made Elva stand out, even in the diversity of looks at the academy, which was one thing she never wanted to do. It made her feel uncomfortable and unbelievably self-conscious. She just really hated them; there was no other word for it.

Shrugging and turning away from the mirror, she headed to the kitchen. There, she grabbed a shiny, red apple from the fridge and her new Konoha hitai-ate from the table, holding the two in one hand as she took her shoes in the other, leaving the door to her small apartment unlocked on accident as she hurried outside. Once she had gotten out into the fresh air, she began to feel more at ease. She stopped now, and stuck the apple into her pocket. After slipping on her shoes and tying her brand-new forehead protector on her forehead, she paused to look up at the apartment building.

It had been something her grandmother had always told her when she was growing up, about how fortunate they were. Her grandmother had often told stories about days when she had lived in luxury, the wife of a famous, rich feudal lord, and also about afterwards, when her husband had ultimately left her after his death with barely anything to live off of. Her grandmother had always said they were fortunate. Elva had never really understood what she met until three years ago.

Three years ago, just as Elva was entering the academy, her grandmother suddenly died. Although the case of death was never officially determined, one thing was for sure – Elva no longer had a guardian to take care of her. She never wanted one, anyway, but the Hokage, at that time Sarutobi-sama, had insisted on having someone to take care of her. As it turned out, the couple who owned and managed the apartment building she and her grandmother had lived in didn't mind at all to watch Elva and at the same time allow her to live on her own in the apartment she had grown up in. To her luck, the Hokage had agreed to this, but just barely. Still, it worked for Elva.

All of a sudden, leaves blowing by due to the changing of the seasons caused Elva to come back to present. She shook her head several times, but then tensed. _I'm going to be late!_ she realized with dread, and set off at a quick run to the academy, knowing how angry Iruka would most likely be.

By the time Elva reached the academy, she had planned to simply sneak into the room and past Iruka-sensei, sliding into the first empty seat she could find. It didn't go quite as smoothly as she had planned. The second she opened the door, not only did Iruka look up, but so did every other new Genin. Iruka raised his eyebrows, although besides that he didn't look especially surprised.

"Good morning, Elva," he said, gesturing to a seat in the front row with his free hand. In the other, he held a sheet of paper that had on it the list of the Genin teams. "Why don't you join us?" he continued, amused at how quickly Elva had realized the flaw in her plan and had flushed a bright shade of red.

Elva nodded quickly and, eager to get the unwanted attention off of her, went to the seat he had just referred to. Settling down a bit, she sat and hesitantly flashed a quick smile at the girl sitting next to her. "Ohayo, Moegi," she greeted quietly.

Moegi broke off the conversation she apparently had been having with Konohamaru and Udon, smiling unreassuringly to the other girl before looking back over at Udon, who had been about to say something next. Elva let out a small, exasperated sigh, slumping down into her seat more and crossing her arms across her chest.

It wasn't that Elva was 'unsociable.' She loved talking to people, even though she had a knack for becoming shy easily. It also seemed that it was easy for her to insult people – sometimes, it seemed as though she always happened to mention the worst thing possible around certain people, or would just come around at a bad time. And Elva could probably consider Moegi a fairly stable friend; they didn't talk a lot, but she was someone Elva felt comfortable with. It was just that Moegi was more attached to Konohamaru and Udon.

"Okay..." Iruka broke the silence as he ran a finger down the paper until he stopped abruptly, glancing back up at the class. "Right. Team Three. Egami Sanyu, Umeko Elva, and Iida Haru."

Behind her in the back row, Elva could vaguely hear what she assumed to be high fives. She resisted the urge to scoff or roll her eyes. Sanyu and Haru were best friends. They had been for as long as Elva – or probably anyone else at the academy – could remember. It figured that they would be on a team with her. It would only be harder for her to be their friends or connect some way when they were already so close.

She fell silent and remained that way for the rest of the team announcements. She didn't have anything to say about it. It was simply bad luck that had put her with the inseparable duo. It could have happened to anybody, but fate had naturally chosen Elva as the bearer of the misfortune. But her solemn mood wouldn't last long.

Suddenly, she heard a squeal beside her. She glanced at Moegi, who was practically jumping out of her seat, beside herself with joy. She grabbed Elva's arm, smiling brightly. "Did you hear that? Konohamaru, Udon, and I – we're on a team! Isn't that great?" she blurted out, having to tell someone before she burst.

Elva nodded slowly, a small smile creeping onto her face. It was hard being so serious when someone around you was so happy. "Yeah, Moegi," she replied, feeling herself nodding again. "It's really great. I'm sure you'll all make a great team."

"You bet we will!" Konohamaru chimed, joining in the conversation. "Maybe we'll even be better than Naruto-nii-san's team!"

They all nodded in agreement, but afterwards, the three of them all seemed to fall silent. Elva didn't understand why. They all looked like they had swallowed some bitter pill or something like that. Elva frowned. "Are you okay?" she asked, slightly worried and hoping she hadn't subconsciously done something wrong.

Udon was the first to reply, his tone sounding almost confused. "Yeah. Yeah, we are. It's just..." He trailed off, unsure of how to explain it.

"Naruto-nii-san's teammate, Sasuke," Moegi finished, taking over for a relieved Udon. "He left two years back to go to Oto. Didn't you hear about that?" When Elva looked confused, she continued, "Naruto and Sakura have been trying to get him to come back ever since. But they can never find him."

"Oh." Elva frowned. _Well...at least it isn't my fault. That would have been awful,_ she figured, and nearly found herself shrugging. Luckily, however, she caught herself, and instead said, "That's...really awful. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Konohamaru said, sighing and resting his chin in his hand, his energy seemingly depleted by remembering one of the only things that was wrong with Konoha. "Really, it is."

Before anything else could be shared between them, someone else spoke up. "Okay!" Iruka repeated, now smiling widely at the Genins in the room. "Now you can all have a break. Go bond with your teammates, spend some quality alone time, or just do whatever. Just be back here in three hours, and then you can all meet your senseis. Good luck!"

**Author's Note:  
**

**This first chapter ended up being about seven hundred words more than the original in the abridged version of this fanfiction. I think it's more informational...don't you? -smiles weakly- Please agree... Eh, forget it. I can't force you to like my fanfiction - You already do! ...no...but you can pity me if you want. **

**On Thursday (the 8****th**** of November), I started feeling really sick. And then two days ago, on Monday, my mom finally brought me to the doctor, and...yes, I have strep throat. And today's Wednesday, and I'm still home from school, because I'm apparently allergic/not responding to amoxicillan. How...unfortunate. Now I have to take **_**more**_** medicine for **_**longer**_**. -sigh- Oh, the horror. **

**Okay, so if any of you truly awesome people went to Reactor 2007 near Chicago on Sunday, and you saw this totally wicked awesome girl cosplaying as Shikamaru, you know who I am, you stalkers! You also probably saw me holding a video camera, and...yes, I shall be putting that on YouTube once my computer permits me. I'm not quite sure when, but my deadline is officially Saturday. If it's after that – which, please don't hate me, but it probably will be a little late – then I will feel very guilty.**

**Anyway, I love you all for reading this. I would really appreciate reviews, and will begin to be writing shout-outs to all of you if you do ****you know, the way normal people do in their fanfictions, but I just realized what they're for? So please do! Even flames are – honestly – appreciated.**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	2. The Road to Akatsuki

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto. **_**It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Elva stopped walking abruptly, having arrived at the old apartment building she had exited from less than an hour and a half before. It took a moment before Konohamaru glanced back, waiting for Elva to answer a question that he had apparently just asked. After a moment, Udon and Moegi stopped as well, turning around to find out why Elva had stopped walking with them. Moegi frowned slightly, asking, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Elva responded, inclining her head toward the building while explaining, "This is where I live, that's all. There's really no point with walking home with you guys any longer if I'd have to walk all the way back here." She froze for a second after she had completed the sentence, realizing that it could be interpreted to mean differently by the way she had said it. "Not that I meant to be rude," she hastily added at the last moment.

Udon raised an eyebrow slightly at Elva's behavior, then seemed to shrug, pushing his glasses up past the bridge of his nose and turning once more to continue their walk away from the academy. Moegi, a little more hesitant, smiled and waved for a moment before also starting away. Konohamaru was the only one to stay, due to his inquisitive nature. "Can we see it?" he asked suddenly, causing his two new teammates to look back over their shoulders.

Elva frowned._ Why would they want to see my apartment?_ she asked herself, confused. Not wanting to be rude, she slowly found herself shrugging and heading towards the main door of the large building. "...yeah. Sure. Come on in." She beckoned them in, holding the door open with one hand while glancing in with the other, almost apprehensive to let people into her apartment.

Her apartment was on the third floor, so they quickly made their way up the flights of stairs and into the hallway. Elva stopped in front of her door and jammed her hands into her pockets, searching for her keys. She grimaced slightly in disgust when she felt the apple she had taken from her refrigerator that morning, but eventually her fingers clasped a metal handle, and she thankfully pulling both of her hands out. She fit the key into the lock, turned it several times, and then pulled.

It wouldn't open. Elva felt herself frowning again, and she pulled for a second time; it still wouldn't open. Udon looked over her shoulder down at the lock. "Is it still locked?" he asked, shifting his glasses again.

She shook her head, looking down at the key in her hand. "No. It shouldn't be," she replied slowly, "I have a key. I just unlocked it. I don't know what could be wrong." This time, Moegi spoke up to try and help.

"Maybe somehow you unlocked it and then relocked it," she suggested, standing up on her tiptoes in order to look over Elva's shoulder as Udon had a moment ago. Elva shrugged, figuring there wasn't any harm in trying. She put the key back into the keyhole and turned again. This time, when she went for the doorknob and twisted, it opened immediately. But Elva had never pulled the door to open it.

Directly in front of her was a blood red cloud outlined in white. Her heart skipped a beat as she followed the pattern, surrounded by black, up to find a blue face looking back down at her. She furrowed her brow, confused once more. "Hello, Kisame," she said quietly, subconsciously putting the key back into her pocket as behind her, her three old classmates tensed up, not knowing how to respond to this new person.

The five of them stood like this in awkward silence for what seemed like hours, but suddenly Elva felt herself grow rigid, and she forced a smile onto her face, whirling around on her heel to face the three new Genin. "I'm really, really sorry," she told them quickly, hoping they'd believe her. She honestly was. "You all have to go. I'll talk to you later?"

Udon, eager to leave, was the first to nod and leave swiftly, disappearing down the stairwell. Konohamaru was the second to leave, followed lastly by Moegi, who seemed to be the most frightened by Kisame's sudden appearance. It was only then that Elva finally turned back to face Kisame. "What are you doing here?" she asked quietly, not angrily but not welcoming, either. She suddenly let out a small scream of surprise when Kisame literally lifted her off of her feet and set her down inside of the apartment before he responded, locking the door afterwards for good measure.

She glared at him, her hands forming fists on impulse as her temper began to get the better of her. "I _hate_ it when you do that," she said angrily, as if it would make him apologize instantly. "You know I don't like to be lifted!" she then reminded him, her voice louder than before. She would have started ranting on about how rude it was to go around lifting shorter people simply because they were smaller than you, when she heard a voice coming from inside her bedroom.

"Elva is back home, no doubt," Itachi stated. It wasn't a question. He had just said it, like he knew that it was true. Elva gasped, immediately forgetting her anger at Kisame. She ran into the room, finding her father facing away from her and toward her bed, doing something she couldn't see.

She flung her arms around his waist, laughing. "You're back!" she exclaimed, nearly beside herself with joy. "You're back – I can't believe you're back, sir!"

The silence that followed her outburst proved just how awkward what Elva had just done was. She backed away a couple of steps, hanging her head and attempting to look contrite. Itachi glanced over his shoulder, but before Elva could look up again, he had turned back around, only to continue whatever he had been doing earlier. "Don't do that again," he reprimanded sharply, causing Elva to involuntarily flinch.

Kisame appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame and folding his arms across his chest, chuckling. "Well, Itachi-san, it's obvious she's missed you," he stated, and just as suddenly as he had taken his pose straightened up, walking up to Elva and leaning over until they were at eye level. "Didn't miss me, did she?" he pondered aloud, not only tweaking Elva's nose in the process but with his other hand ruffling her hair.

She exhaled angrily, pushing his hand away and using her free hand to cover her nose, immensely embarrassed. "Stop it!" she commanded roughly, attempting to push her hair back into place without having to redo her ponytail, a feat which was becoming hard to accomplish due to only having one hand to do so. "I don't like it when you do that. And I certainly don't like you treating me like I'm a five year old!"

Kisame gasped melodramatically, mocking her as he threw his hands in the air, looking shocked. "Oh, did I? Well, with a young lady using words like 'certainly,' you must be older than five. Perhaps...six?" Elva glared at him, only further fueling his fun. "I know, I know. You don't like it when I do anything," he retorted, smirking; "yet I still do them."

Itachi finally faced them, now holding an overly packed traveling bag. He handed it to Elva, who nearly doubled over in an attempt to stay upright while holding the heavy object. He pushed past Kisame and out of the bedroom, heading into the kitchen. "Come here," he said simply, not bothering to specify who he meant. Elva remained in place, still unsure she could move at all while holding the bag without meeting the floor, until she finally sighed and followed Kisame into the kitchen after her father.

Itachi had taken out the peanut butter jar from the refrigerator and two slices of bread from the pantry, once again facing away from the two. Elva fidgeted uncomfortably, losing her patience as she waited for a moment when she could ask her father why he was there and what was going on. After half a minute or less, Itachi turned back around, now holding a simply peanut butter sandwich. He handed that to Elva, too, and then promptly started for the door.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Elva asked, making a face of disgust as she held the peanut butter sandwich. _I hate peanut butter,_ she muttered to herself. _How many times do I have to tell him that?_

"Eat," he ordered, opening the door and holding it open expectantly. "We're going to be moving a lot today." He paused, and then raised an eyebrow as he saw Elva eyeing the sandwich with distaste. "What now?" he asked, almost in a tired tone.

Elva rolled her eyes to the ceiling, still fighting to hold back her temper. "I hate peanut butter. I've told you that a million times," she told him, sighing in exasperation. "Don't you remember?"

Itachi shrugged. "Hn," he murmured. That was the only thing Elva could get out of him, so she tried another question she desperately wanted to ask.

"What did you mean about 'moving a lot today?'" she then asked, going to the kitchen counter and opening a drawer, taking out a cloth napkin to wrap the sandwich in to be eaten later. "Why are you even here?"

Itachi didn't respond, shifting his weight to lean on the door more as he continued to hold it open, so she instead looked to Kisame for an answer. He raised an eyebrow at her, and then suddenly asked, "What, you hug your dad, but not me? And then you expect me to answer your question?" When Elva's eyes narrowed noticeably, he beamed down at her. "Aw, it's okay. I love you, too!"

Without enough time to react, Elva was pulled into a bone-crushing hug, and she immediately gagged, repulsed. "Dad, Kisame's scaring me again!" she yelled, although her voice was quieter than normal, due to the fact that she couldn't breath through the bear hug. She attempted to push the tall, blue man away, but found she couldn't even move her arms; they were pinned to her sides due to the ferocity of the hug.

Itachi perked an eyebrow, eyeing Kisame with a mixture of confusion and disgust. "Kisame, what the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded in an even tone, not raising his voice, but leaving it obvious he was beginning to get annoyed.

Kisame released Elva a few seconds later and patted her on the head before looking at Itachi and smiling brightly, revealing two rows of pointed teeth. "Nothing, Itachi-san; just bonding with my favorite little kid," he replied, attempted to wrap an arm around the young girl

Elva ducked away, backing up until she was between the two men. "Oh, yeah?" Elva challenged, a bright, yet sarcastic grin now on her face, finally feeling safe enough to make a move that seemed that cocky. "Well, you're one of my least favorite adults. Got it?"

"Let's get going. We don't have all day," Itachi reminded them, trying to prevent an argument, even though he didn't fully expect Kisame to be angry with Elva. Like Kisame himself had said, Elva was his 'favorite little kid.' That was true enough the majority of the time. "We don't have much time," he then repeated, for good measure.

Within ten minutes, the three had successfully gotten out of Konoha without running into any guards that might recognize the two missing nins. They had taken the scenic route; Itachi had led them through the Uchiha District and out a secret exit from the village, as to not cause any trouble and, once again, avoid any extra attention from the village's guards. They spent a good hour or so simply walking in silence. Elva wondered if this was how Itachi and Kisame always were like when they were alone together, or if it was just because she was there, too. She secretly hoped she wasn't the one causing the obvious awkwardness.

Finally, she decided to try and strike up a conversation. "So..." she began, smiling uneasily as she paused until she knew she had Itachi and Kisame's attention. "Is there a specific reason you're taking me to Akatsuki?" she asked, hopeful that she would get an answer.

"There's a mission," Itachi replied after a brief moment of thought, "that we thought you could help with. ...not exactly 'help' with it exactly, but having a child with us would make us seem less..." He trailed off, yet he wasn't exactly thinking of the right word, but more so waiting to see if Elva could catch on.

"Conspicuous," Elva finished, smiling more cheerfully and sincerely now. "I understand. It makes perfect sense," she added, nodding as she quickened her pace a little to match those of the adults.

She stopped talking and, for a while, the only sound around them was that of their footsteps, and occasionally the sound of a leaf falling to the ground or a twig breaking somewhere in the forest around them. Then, finding the silence unbearable, she asked, "What's this mission, anyway? Where is it?"

"Kumogakure," Kisame answered, talking this time. He didn't glance at Elva, instead still looking ahead at the path ahead of them. "Itachi-san and I need to..._question_ a feudal lord there." At _question_, he smirked a little, although you couldn't see it through the collar of his Akatsuki robe. Even so, the way he had said it didn't make it seem right.

Itachi now looked back at Elva. "Why haven't you eaten the sandwich?" he asked, noticing the peanut butter sandwich that she hadn't touched yet. It was still perfectly folded in the napkin, if not a bit folded from Elva holding it in a fist for most of the trip.

"I..." Elva glanced down at her hand, as if needing to know for sure Itachi wasn't lying about what he had just said. "I just don't like peanut butter. I've told you that at least five times, sir." She sighed heavily, looking back up at her father, almost looking hurt. "I told you before we left, but you—"

He shrugged, focusing on the path in front of them again. "It's an easy thing to forget," he admitted, and the conversation was immediately dropped, leaving them in the silence that would continue for hours to come until they, finally, settled down for camp.

**Author's Note:**

**This chapter turned out longer than I thought, but when I looked back at the original, abridged versions, I realized that it made sense, because the second chapter was reasonably longer than the first. This one is almost 2,500 words long, which is about 1,200 words longer than the first. Wow. That's...pretty good, isn't it? For me, it is.**

**So, please review. I know the people that are probably reading this have already read it, but if you would be so kind, please tell me if, so far, you like it more. I've tried to add in more information about Elva and her past so far. Tell me if you like these or not, because I can still rewrite either of these chapters. I just don't want to have to go back and rewrite them around chapter eight or something like that.**

**Thank you all for reading this. I really appreciate it.**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	3. More Information

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto. **_**It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"_Have you gotten a little taller?" Itachi asked, looking at the boy facing him from across the room. Although his face was obscured by the darkness, making any other distinguishing features discernable, the boy's eyes betrayed him. He glared with intense hatred at Itachi, his fists tightening at his sides instinctively._

"_...you haven't changed at all," the boy muttered quickly, as if he could no longer hold it in. "You still have those heartless, cold eyes of yours."_

_There was a short pause, during which the two young men merely stared at one another in dead silence. Finally, Itachi asked, "Aren't you going to yell and run at me like last time?"_

_This time, the boy did not laugh at this comment, turning like always to approach Elva, walking swiftly toward her, still gripping the sharp katana blade in his hand. But instead of going ahead and threatening her like he usually did, the perspective changed, and instead of the focal point being the boy himself, it shifted now to face Elva._

_It was like seeing everything from the boy's eyes. In his eyes, Elva seemed almost freakishly weak and useless. She stood there, frozen in fear, looking up at him, tears shining in her eyes. There was nothing she could do; she knew it. She was just so helpless, and it was honestly pitiful to watch her. _

"Elva."

Kisame shook Elva gently, grasping her shoulder with one hand while leaning the other on the ground for support, still immensely fatigued from the short night's rest. "Elva," he repeated again softly, but slightly louder this time. The young girl finally opened her eyes, and sat up instantly.

The moment she had done so, she winced, her hands going to her head and massaging her temples. When Kisame almost seemed concerned for her, she assured him, "It's just a headache." She stopped, but suddenly inhaled sharply as another wave of pain racked her head. "A horrible one," she muttered through clenched teeth. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Not much later than five." This time, the person to answer Elva was Itachi. She looked over at him at hearing his voice, but almost immediately regretted it, feeling her head pound again from the sudden movement.

_He doesn't look tired at all,_ she observed weakly, sighing to herself. _Kami, isn't he normal?_ Then she stopped suddenly. _Not much later than five?_ She repeated what he had said in her mind. She forced herself to look back up at him. "In the afternoon?" she questioned, confused. "We couldn't possibly have slept that long – we set up camp by one in the morning!"

"Exactly. It's been four hours," Itachi responded, looking at her with an almost amused expression. "That would explain your headache; people like_ you_ often get them from lack of sleep. You had better get used to it."

Elva resisted the urge to scoff. "And by people you mean children?" she asked dryly, glaring at him. Kisame stood up now and offered Elva a hand. She took it, if not somewhat reluctantly, and he helped pull her to her feet. She mumbled her thanks quickly and yawned, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Is there any breakfast?" she asked suddenly, realizing she hadn't eaten anything the previous day; even the apple, which she had gotten to eat before the academy, had never been eaten, instead still remaining in her pocket.

Thinking of this, her hand impulsively reached down into her pockets. The apple was still in the left, and she made a face, taking it out and studying it critically. She bounced it in her hand, noting its obvious mushiness, and looked up at her father. "Dad, do you think a day-old apple is okay to eat?"

Itachi blinked at her for a moment, almost seeming to be spacing out, before answering, "Well, if you die of food poisoning, don't blame me," which was more than enough for Elva. She shuddered, repulsed at the thought, and instantly threw the apple several feet away onto the forest ground, jumping away from it.

Kisame laughed, causing her to flinch slightly and glance at him, confused. "Wow, Elva. That was very...comical of you," he stated, eyebrows raised, obviously amused. Elva furrowed her eyebrows, crossing her arms across her chest and looking away pointedly.

"Don't laugh at me," she muttered unconvincingly. "I don't feel like dying of food poisoning today, even though you seem to want me to apparently, or else you would understand why I just did that." Then she looked back at Itachi to ask, "Is there anything else that I could eat?"

"...and just so you know," Itachi pointed out, or a moment ignoring her question, "you would not have died of food poisoning from eating a day-old apple. That was to test your common sense, and you failed horribly." Here he paused, and appeared to be thinking. "Let's see... You refused to eat your sandwich, and you wouldn't like the food Kisame eats." Kisame shot a glare at Itachi for that, although he just continued; "All that's left is, basically, some rotting bread and kiwis."

With that, he took out a kiwi and tossed it to Elva. To her own shock, she was able to catch it, but made a face and gagged immediately afterward. "I _hate_ kiwis even more than I hate peanut butter!" She looked up at her father again with the same hurt expression from before. "I've made that clear enough before. Didn't you know that?"

He merely shrugged, which sorely irritated Elva. "No," he replied simply. "You said you liked fruit a while back; you like one fruit, you like them all. That's my policy, and for most of the time it has worked. So why not kiwi?"

Elva held the kiwi at arm's length and shuddered involuntarily, back into her disgusted mood. "I don't really know," she admitted, then slowly said, "They're just...fuzzy and...green and...ugh."

"_Ugh_?" Kisame questioned, mocking her with a raised eyebrow. "Really, Elva. You're just so...eloquent sometimes!" Elva rolled her eyes, sighing heavily.

"You know what I meant, Kisame!" she shot back angrily. He just laughed and shook his head with a resigned look. Then Elva paused and looked back at Itachi again. "Dad...are you sure there isn't anything else to eat? I'm still hungry."

Itachi scoffed softly. "Sure there is," he answered, shrugging slightly. "I definitely don't plan on sharing any of it with you, but I have it nonetheless." At this, Elva opened her mouth to object, about to launch into a long rant about how cruel it was to deny your only child food, but he held up a hand. "Just shut up for once in your life, Elva, please," he said quietly, and the subject was dropped at that.

* * *

Elva let out a relieved sigh, her shoulders slumping. "We're here," she exclaimed in an exhausted voice, stepping forward ahead of Itachi and Kisame and up to the riverbank, looking up at the huge boulder and red archway that led into the Akatsuki hideout. She stood there for a moment, but suddenly wavered as a sudden wave of fatigue struck her without warning. Kisame stepped forward, as if to help her, but a look from Itachi stopped him in his tracks.

"Are you all right?" Kisame asked, concerned. Elva was silent for a second, before she then slowly nodded, holding her head with one hand. She glanced back at Kisame and nodded more definitely, trying to smile.

"Just tired," she reassured him in a small voice. Itachi scoffed softly, pushing past her roughly and into the river to open the entrance to the hideout. Elva stumbled but regained her balance before Kisame reached her, and the two shortly followed the Uchiha into the Akatsuki lair.

They dropped off their belongings in the two-room apartment they were to share. Originally, Kisame and Itachi slept in separate rooms, but now that Elva would be coming to live and stay at Akatsuki for an indefinite amount of time, Kisame was going to be sleeping in Itachi's room on a cot. Kisame had been kind enough to give Elva his room. After they had dropped off their bags, Kisame and Itachi immediately started off. Elva frowned, confused even though her exhausted. "Where are you going? We just got here," she asked, gesturing behind them at the two bedroom doors.

"Meeting," Itachi replied shortly over his shoulder. "I'm sure you wouldn't be interested," he continued, "but you can come if you would like." Naturally, Elva followed them, momentarily pushing her fatigue out of her mind. She anticipated meeting all of the other members, even if it may turn out that they would hate her all. She entered the large meeting room silently after the two men while they headed to their places in the circle. When Elva stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do, Kisame glanced over at her and beckoned her over. She went to stand by him just as Pein arrived.

"Thank you all for coming," he said, nodding to each of them in turn. "I appreciate it. First off, the mission assignments: Sasori, Deidara, you have been wasting more than enough time. You need to collect your Jinchuuriki immediately and bring it back here. Is that understood?" They nodded, although Deidara seemed slightly annoyed. "Right," Pein continued. "Hidan, Kakuzu, same general idea. You need to get your Jinchuuriki soon, as well – not as soon as Sasori and Deidara, though. We can only handle one Jinchuuriki at a time."

He next addressed Itachi and Kisame. "Like I have said earlier, there is a feudal lord in Kumogakure, Masakazu, who has found out the location of Akatsuki, due to someone's—" he paused to gestured to Tobi indiscreetly, who was squatting on the ground, inspecting a black beetle, "—loud mouth. You two need to go there and _less than_ kindly convince him not to tell anyone." He stopped for a moment, and then at seeing Elva standing by Kisame, looked at Itachi. "Assuming that your daughter is here, Itachi, you have chosen to bring her along?"

Itachi nodded briefly, casting a sideways glance at Elva, as if to remind her to mind herself. Pein bowed his head slightly. "I see," he murmured, looking at Elva before speaking up again. "Make sure not to allow yourself to be a burden. You have graduated the academy by now, yes?" Elva nodded, and was about to say something when Pein suddenly cut her off. "Good," Pein continued, "then you should be able to keep yourself from getting into trouble."

He then stopped abruptly, and for once seemed to almost have a troubled expression on his face. "There is one more thing," he said aloud slowly, getting everyone's attention, including Tobi's. "Orochimaru is dead." He let the words sink in for several seconds before continuing. "This, as you know, is no small feat to accomplish. He was murdered; that much is obvious." He paused again, although this time it was more for dramatic effect than anything else. "The shinobi who killed him was Uchiha Sasuke."

No one seemed to change all that much, save for Itachi, really. Elva felt herself frown slightly, remembering the name from nearly a week ago at the academy, when Konohamaru had mentioned Naruto's team, causing Moegi and Udon to get upset. Itachi seemed to just stop himself from flinching, but by doing so let himself tighten slightly. Now, Pein continued. "The reason I've brought this up is simple enough: we all know what Sasuke's goal is. If he is able to defeat one of the Sannin..." He chuckled. "There's no telling what else he can do." After another pause:

"Meeting adjourned. You are dismissed."

Immediately, everyone started leaving the room, the majority of Akatsuki buzzing about the newly handed-out missions. Deidara seemed immensely annoyed, heard to be grumbling about how his "Sasori no Danna" said he couldn't make a fool of himself by exploding Sunagakure. He also mentioned that he would do so even though he supposedly wasn't allowed to, although he only said this once Sasori himself was out of earshot. Only Elva stayed in the room, just standing there, frowning.

Kisame was the only one that saw her, and he stopped abruptly. He walked over slowly, careful not to be too loud. Elva didn't turn around to face him, not even acknowledging he was still in the room. Yet Kisame still thought she was listening. "Is something wrong?" he asked quietly, casting a backwards glance to the doorway to make sure no one was still in there that would listen.

His tone was so kind and gentle that it startled Elva. Besides several choice moments when he seemed caring and actually patient, she was used to Kisame always joking around when interacting with her. She looked up at him and shrugged, still a bit too surprised to say anything. "Come on," he said softly, putting an arm around her shoulder and going toward the door. Elva followed silently, staring at the floor ahead of them.

_Why is he acting like this?_ she asked herself, confused. _He's been nice before, sure, but he's just acting weird now. _Kisame was being so kind and patient and loving that it took forever for Elva to realize it. She had forgotten what it was like to get special attention from someone since her grandmother died three years ago. But finally she got it. _He's acting...like all of the parents do at the academy. Whenever they'd pick up their kids. Like all the fathers._

Suddenly, she stopped walking, feeling like she might be able to confide in Kisame. "It's..." She trailed off, not exactly sure how to put it. Finally, she continued; "No one believes in me," she blurted out, sounding so blunt that many people might laugh if she had said that to them. But Kisame didn't, which was one factor that made he continue. "Everyone is so used to Father being the best, and they just expect and assume that I'll be like him, too. But I don't want to be like him, and I can't. I just...want to be me. And it seems like no one is ever satisfied with that."

She glanced up at Kisame, but once she had made eye contact suddenly averted her gaze back to the floor. Her frown intensified. "Pein-sama wouldn't let me explain that I had become a Genin. For the first time, he didn't assume that I was as powerful as Father. Instead, he bothered me even more – he knew I couldn't take care of myself, and he knew I wasn't a capable shinobi...erm...kunoichi." She made a face. "Whatever I am," she quickly said, and there she gave up trying to explain what was wrong, figuring she now looked immensely stupid in front of Kisame.

When she had finally gotten the courage to look back up at the blue man, Kisame was looking at her, a mixture of confusion and pity on his face. Just as suddenly as this expression had appeared, he smiled comfortingly and inclined his head toward the door to their apartment. "Come on," he repeated. "It's getting late."

**Author's Note:**

**This is beginning to feel oddly satisfying, posting a new chapter that's a lot longer than the original. This one is 1,000 words ( ( almost exactly ) ) than the original third chapter. Oh, the joy. w00t!**

**I have received several requests for the sequel to this story that I had been planning to write, but instead gave up, so I might still continue it and repost it. If you are one of the kind people who read it, liked it, and complimented me on it...I apologize, but the plotline will change drastically. - I love disappointing people. ...not...really...but I hope you know what I mean.**

**Anyways, I love reviewers. I worship the ground you all walk on when you review my horrible stories...so...yes, PLEASE review. I am begging here...so, yes. **

**Oh! And random event that happened last night/this morning: From 6:29 PM to 1:54 AM, I was on AIM talking to one of the coolest people ever!! That's...like...seven and a half hours! YAY. **

**-Meri Umeko-**


	4. Traveling to Cloud

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto. **_**It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Elva entered the kitchen quietly, closing the door behind her. Only Itachi and Kisame were there, although they were sitting at the dining table through the arched doorway in the next room over. Elva left the kitchen to go into this room, not bothering to get anything to eat before doing so, and sat down next to Itachi. He glanced at her before returning to his meal. "Good morning, Elva," he said.

"Ohayo, sir," she said, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. She yawned for a second before eventually looking back up at Itachi. "Where's everybody else?"

"Not awake yet."

Elva blinked at her father, slightly confused at the answer, and then looked at Kisame. "What time is it?" she asked. She had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer, but she had decided to ask anyway.

"Let's see..." Kisame paused to think, and then shrugged, as if he could care less. "Earlier than yesterday," he answered.

"It's _before_ five?!" Elva demanded, gaping at him. He just shrugged again and resumed eating. It was then that she realized that Kisame was, to an extent, ignoring her. _But last night..._ she trailed off, but then sighed quietly in defeat, finally taking a piece of toast from the plate in front of her. She didn't want to think about it; if Kisame wanted to ignore what had happened, so would she, even if she didn't want to.

It had been barely a minute that Elva had been sitting there that Itachi stood up, abruptly leaving the dining room. "...is he all right?" she asked after a moment, looking at Kisame again. Kisame nodded this time, standing up and gesturing that Elva should do so as well. Together, they started collecting the dishes and bringing them into the kitchen as Kisame started to talk.

"He's going to finish making arrangements," he told her, turning on the water faucets in the sink. There was a heavy moment of silence, during which Elva started washing the dishes, when Kisame left to get the rest from the table. When he came back, he spoke again. This time, his tone was much gentler and carefully placed; "Elva, about last night... You don't _need_ to act like your father or pretend that you'll eventually be exactly like him. You don't have to follow in your father's footsteps if you don't want to. In my opinion, I think you show great promise as a ninja..."

She looked up at him, smiling softly. That was the first time anyone had ever said that to her in her life, besides the introductory meeting at the academy three years ago when Iruka had told all of the new academy students, 'I think you all will become splendid shinobi one day.'

But then Kisame continued; "...even if Itachi-san doesn't think so, too."

Elva's face fell. "Of course," she mumbled sheepishly, setting one of the dishes down on the counter next to the sink. "That's obvious enough," she stated with a forced laugh before adding as a last thought, "Why didn't I think of that?" She turned and started out of the room quickly, wanting to avoid having to talk to Kisame further.

"Elva."

"_Everyone is so used to Father being the best, and they just expect and assume that I'll be like him, too. But I don't want to be like him, and I can't. I just...want to be me. And it seems like no one is ever satisfied with that."_

She stopped hesitantly, although she didn't face Kisame. There was a much longer pause this time. Elva was almost about to leave again when Kisame said, "Well, Elva...if you want people to accept you for who you are...you're going to have to train a lot harder than you do already." He paused, then slowly put in, "And...who knows? Maybe, if you ask, even Itachi-san would be willing to help you. Then – maybe – he'd believe in you like you want him to."

_Yeah, like I could ever train hard enough to be as good as Father is. I'd kill myself trying,_ Elva thought bitterly. Even so, she nodded quickly as to show Kisame she had heard him, and left the room without saying anything in response.

* * *

_Just ask him!_ Elva screamed inside her mind. _It's not like he'd be angry. If anything, Father would be pleased to know I want to train! ...wouldn't he? _She paused, physically feeling herself slow down her pace from having to think too hard. _Come on, what's wrong with me? It's not that hard a question. It's either yes or no. Yes or no. Oh, Kami, he's going to say no, isn't he? I know he is! Then I'll be humiliated and everything will seem awkward and Kisame will feel guilty for mentioning it and—_

The scenario Elva was thinking of was abruptly cut short when Itachi stopped, turning slightly to look over his shoulder at her. "...why will you be humiliated and everything will be awkward and Kisame will feel guilty for mentioning _what_?"

Elva's shoulder's sagged. "Oh, man, I was talking _out loud_?" she demanded, although both she and Itachi knew it was a rhetorical question. "What's wrong with me?" The second question as mostly to herself, although Itachi had obviously heard it. Her father narrowed his eyes slightly before turning on his heel and continuing away. _He's annoyed, too?_ Elva then asked herself. _Can't I do anything right? I can't even think, for crying out loud!_

The silence that followed bothered Elva. More times than she could count, she had quickened her pace to match her father's, ready to ask him about training, when she would suddenly stop and slow down again. And each time, Itachi would obviously get more and more agitated. Finally, when she had worked up enough courage to begin to ask him the question, he cut her off: "We'll stop here for the night."

The night passed without incident; for once in a long time, Elva didn't suffer from any bad dreams. In fact, she hadn't had any dreams at all while asleep. Another new thing that hadn't happened in a long time was the fact that the three didn't get up to travel until eleven in the morning. Elva was immensely pleased with this, finally able to catch up on her sleep without interruption. But once Itachi said it was time to go, Kisame and Elva loaded their packs and followed without another word.

The clouds flew by in the clear, blue sky as they traveled, the sun slowly moving in the same direction, every once in a while able to tell them that it was midday, or that it was early afternoon. Time seemed to pass surprisingly quickly for Elva – she entertained herself by looking at, basically, anything she could see.

For a while, the three walked by a small brook, during which time Elva gladly observed the fish fleeting in and out of view just below the surface, and the occasional frog sitting on a lily pad. A while later they found themselves out in an open plain, where they would end up spending the majority of the day. If Elva was lucky, she could sometimes see families of hares rushing by toward their burrow, or a hawk circling above overhead. She couldn't explain why, but she thoroughly enjoyed every moment of being in nature. She always had.

"We're almost there," Itachi eventually announced. They had been traveling nearly the whole day, only stopping once for less than a half hour to eat and rest. Elva was relieved; for the first time, she realized just how tired she really was. "Get ready."

_Get ready for what?_ Elva wondered to herself, frowning. But she wouldn't dare ask. It would just make her look stupid. She had decided earlier in the day that she was going to prove herself to her father on this mission, after not being able to ask her father about training the previous night. _I mean...we're just going to a village, right? Nothing big._

"You might want to stay behind," Kisame told her quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder. While Elva slowed down to a halt, Itachi was still in front of them, continuing to walk ahead. "It might not be...safe," he said cautiously, glancing ahead at the Uchiha.

"She'll stay." Itachi turned to them – the second he had faced them, Kisame had stepped away from Elva, his hand at his side. He looked between the two for a moment, suspicion crossing his features for a moment when he looked at Kisame, until he stated, "Safety isn't the point."

After a moment, they had all started walking again. But Kisame stopped Elva again, and walked forward to Itachi, making him stop as well this time. He glanced at Elva before whispering furiously to Itachi for a moment. Itachi just watched him. Elva couldn't hear what he was saying, but she desperately wanted to know what was going on. Then Itachi suddenly smirked, and he shook his head. Kisame looked like he might continue, but a look from the other man silenced him.

Itachi glanced at Elva. "You have a friend now, do you?" he asked her sarcastically, in a more cheerful tone than he usually used, tilting his head toward Kisame. Then he scoffed softly and then was moving again. This time, Kisame stayed up by him, not looking back at Elva again. It took her a moment before she realized that she had to get going, too, lest she be left behind. They remained this way for what seemed like forever, until Kisame abruptly stopped.

"She's not ready for this," he said in a low tone, but Elva could easily hear every word. "If you're going to be a god-awful father and practically send her to her grave, fine. But if you think I'm just going to let you do that, you had better be on something." He turned to Elva now, raising his voice. "Go," he commanded forcibly, jabbing a finger at the forest to their left, where they had long ago emerged from after following the stream.

Even though she didn't want to, Elva shook her head, yet then started backing away awkwardly closer to the forest, not knowing what else to do. Itachi was glaring at Kisame, occasionally tossing a similar look at her. Kisame was obviously trying to keep him calm through his anger, which was beginning to look like a lost battle, when a sound cut through the air.

It wasn't that loud a sound, but anyone could hear it clearly if they had been listening. It was a kunai, whizzing through the air. It landed silently a foot or so away from Itachi and Kisame. They stood there for a moment, watching it closely, before both of them suddenly jumped farther away from the forest, more than twenty yards from the kunai. Seconds later, an explosive tag on the kunai's handle detonated. It was short range; due to the Akatsuki partners' noting this fact, they were able to get out of the way.

Elva was already out of the way. By now, she was standing at the edge of the tree line of the forest, leaning against one of the trees. She gaped at the scene in front of her, trying to work through what had just happened through her mind. They were being attacked. That much was painfully obvious – if Elva didn't know that, she would have had to confess to her own idiocy on the spot. Was the attack intentional? Had Kisame talked to her father when she wasn't around, and then this was some form of crude training? Why did Kisame seem so overprotective all of a sudden? Why was he worried for her welfare?

Her thoughts ended suddenly when she heard a twig snap behind her. She whirled around, but before she could scream, a hand had appeared out of nowhere behind her and cut her off. With their free hand, the ninja then pinned Elva's arms to her side. As much as her mind screamed for her to try to get away, or at least try to look around and see if Itachi or Kisame had seen this happen, she couldn't move at all.

The shinobi that was in front of her took a step forward. He had been under a dark shadow, but the second he stepped ahead, his face lit up. He appeared to be entertained, content to see a young girl being terrified and defenseless. Elva shut her eyes immediately, trying not to be afraid. But it was proving difficult. The ninja chuckled.

"Let her go," he said to the other, and before Elva knew it, she met the hard forest floor. She still didn't want to look up, but she felt she had to. As soon as she had forced her gaze up, she jumped to her feet, going into her weapon bag for a kunai. Once she had taken it out, she held it at arm's length, not caring if it looked stupid or not.

The shinobi took a step forward, and Elva instinctively backed up until she had hit a tree. She couldn't help it now; she really was terrified. She shut her eyes again, not wanting to see what was going to happen. If she was going to die, she didn't want to have to watch it for herself. She dropped the kunai, unable to hold it any longer due to how hard her hand was shaking.

But nothing happened. No one came at her with a katana as she imagined they would. No one attempted to use genjutsu on her to terrify her more. But suddenly, she heard a voice in her ear: "If you tell us why they're here, we promise not to hurt you," it whispered, and it was then that she snapped.

"_I'm going to kill you now," he told her when he had finally reached her, leaning forward to whisper it in her ear. "And I assure you, it is going to be very...very...painful."_

"No!" Elva shouted, ducking down. This time, as she hit the ground, she also simultaneously pulled her knees to her chest, breaking down in hysterical sobs. It was as if her nightmare had come true, even if the ninja in front of her wasn't the boy from her dream. She remained like this for what seemed like forever. The world was pushed away from her senses as she continued to cry: all she could hear was her crying; all she felt was her body slowly becoming more and more exhausted from the dry sobs that were now escaping out of her dehydrated mouth, unable to force herself to tear up any longer; all she saw was herself, in her own misery, waiting to die.

Just as she thought she would pass out from crying for so long, something made her look up. Kisame was suddenly in front of her, talking. Or to be more literal, yelling. At Itachi. People she recognized were finally in front of her, in comparison to the two shinobi who probably would have killed her given the chance. Kisame was glaring at Itachi, whereas Itachi was merely watching Elva.

"What's _wrong_ with you?" Kisame demanded. Elva wasn't sure she had ever seen him this angry. "For Kami's sake, she's _fucking ten years old_! She can't handle something like that on her own. What if we hadn't come? If she had been forced to fight? Or what if she hadn't fought at all? What would have happened then?"

"It's..." Itachi smirked, seeing Elva had heard them and looked up. "Good practice, I would like to think." He raised an eyebrow, nodding to Elva. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Before she could offer an answer, he turned and started off again. Sometimes it seemed like Itachi would say or ask one thing, and then he'd assume he had ended the conversation. It was that exact thing here. Kisame glared after him, then looked back down at Elva. Elva was shocked at how much a person's expression could change in a split second.

He had gone from looking terrifyingly angry to looking genuinely worried. His tone changed, as well. When he next spoke, Elva didn't think she was talking to the same person. His voice sounded so calm and controlled, yet at the same time hurt and worried. "Are you all right, Elva?" he asked, offering a hand to her.

Unlike the previous morning, Elva didn't take the hand. She stood up, looking at Kisame with a mixture of confusion and anger. Eventually, she shrugged, and smiled softly, forcing her feelings aside. "Yeah. I'm fine."

**Author's Note:**

**A few things that were actually, literally changed in this chapter, and a lot was added in. I hope you liked it. If you didn't, well, then...I have a perfectly good closet that I can barricade myself in when the hate mail starts piling in. But even if you hate this, I implore you – PLEASE REVIEW.**

**It's that button, right there, in the bottom-left corner of the screen underneath this author's note. It says "Submit Review." See it? Good! Now click on the button next to it, "Go." NOW GO. Type in anything – ANYTHING, PLEASE. Say it sucks, say it's a-okay, give me advice for the following chappies, anything, please. Say something random; if you're hyper, say something random. I don't care. I just like feedback. **

**The original version of this chapter was 1,811 words. THIS new version is 2,942 words. Awesomeness. I'm too lazy to do the math, even though I know it's insanely easy. HEY! That's a great idea, ain't it?? Do the math and TELL me in the review, you kind ol' reviewers, you! ...you're wondering when I'm going to stop ranting, eh? How 'bout now?**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	5. Personal Conversation

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own**_** Naruto. **_**It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

_Is he angry with me?_

Itachi was kneeling on the ground, his hands limply lying in his lap as he watched the fire flickering toward and away from him. He seemed so interested in it, yet at the same time seemed to be thinking about something completely different. Every once in a while, he would shift, almost stealing a glance at Elva, at which point the young girl would come to a certain decision.

If it was an 'I-don't-care-about-you-I-just-didn't-want-to-look-at-the-fire-anymore' type of look, Elva would feel more comfortable, starting to think maybe he wasn't angry. Then, Itachi would cast an 'I-hate-you-with-all-my-heart-even-though-I-probably-don't-have-one' type of glare, and Elva would immediately shrink away and cringe, assuming that he was, of course, angry.

Elva imagined that the fire was like his mind in a way; every time a spark flew out or the fire blew in a different direction, it was like he had switched his thoughts to something other than what he had been thinking about a moment before. He seemed to be switching subjects to think about very often, each line of thought seeming to last only several seconds. She had a good reason for imagining that, too – she had never noticed it, but Itachi made funny faces when he was thinking.

She suddenly laughed at the observation. Itachi finally looked up fully, narrowing his eyes as he turned to face her. "What?" he asked, almost sounding annoyed at Elva's random outburst.

"You look weird when you think!" she exclaimed, sitting down cross-legged next to him. She looked up at him, beaming, and giggled a little. Slowly, however, her smile faded, and she looked up at the night sky, seeing the billions of bright stars twinkling above them. _How does he think about so many things so fast?_ she wondered to herself. _I can't even think about a single thing by myself without backtracking and contradicting myself horribly._

Not seeing how her expression had changed and most likely thinking she probably had the same, stupid grin on her face, Itachi just shook his head and returned his attention to the fire, muttering, "So I've heard."

And then it was silent again, just as it had been for the past several hours. Elva blanked slightly, for a moment pausing to look down at her father, confused, before finally shrugging and looking back up at the sky again. She resisted the urge to gasp or laugh as she saw a dot of light shoot across the sky – a falling star – and mention it or even remember to make a wish. Then she looked back down, this time focusing on Kisame, who was still pacing back and forth beyond the fire, deep in thought. As he had answered when Elva had asked him an hour and a half ago, he was 'thinking up a plan.' At that point, Elva had decided that she, too, would help formulate ideas of how to best move forward next, although after about two minutes she gave up.

"I think I got – wait. No..." he exclaimed, then stopped himself abruptly. Kisame recovered from his outburst, resuming his pacing, but a second later, stopped again. "I...just...have to see..." He headed out of the area of dense forest they were resting in.

Elva frowned, watching him, then looked at Itachi, furrowing her eyebrows. She asked, "Dad, where's Kisame going?" Itachi seemed to shrug, but through the thick, dark fabric of the Akatsuki cloak, it was hard to tell whether he really had or not.

"No where," he said shortly, not even glancing at his daughter, instead still seeming engrossed in the fire. He had long since stopped making faces; whether he had done it naturally or intentionally was hard to tell, although Elva guessed it was because of the latter.

_Well_, Elva thought dryly, _he obviously wants to be alone right now. But I'm just so _bored. _I don't know what else to do! I could try to follow Kisame...but I would get lost. Why did it have to get so dark so fast? It's so...awkward here..._

She sat there for a minute, thinking of what she could possibly say without either annoying Itachi or making herself look stupid. The only sound she made throughout that short period was when the fire suddenly flared up and turned to blow in her direction, at which time she gasped and turned her head away. Once she had recovered, she blinked her eyes several times and took a deep breath to calm herself before looking at Itachi, determined to start a conversation now.

"Dad, can you tell me about my mother?" Elva suddenly asked, her tone a little louder than it should have been. Itachi almost flinched, but he seemed to refrain from doing so at the last second. There was a brief silence, but Elva persisted. "Well...can you?" she continued, her voice beginning to falter.

Itachi glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, but then raised his eyebrows, even though there was no real reason to do so. He allowed the silence to last a couple seconds longer before promptly replying, "It's complicated. I'd rather not."

"But I don't know anything about her!" she pushed before she could stop herself. "Not anything. Did she have violet eyes like me? Did she look like me? Was she anything like me at all? What happened to her?"

"Why do you keep using the past tense?" Itachi asked quietly, narrowing his eyes as he finally looked at her. Elva seemed surprised, and couldn't think of what to say while another awkward silence filled into the empty space.

"Well, I...I..." Elva trailed off. "She died, didn't she?" He shrugged, more noticeably this time, still looking at her with a dead stare. "How did she die, then?"

"How do you think?" he asked bitterly, his tone suddenly angry. This sudden change made Elva literally jump for a moment, shaken. "Why do you want to know so badly?"

"I don't know, 'cause she's my mother?" Elva answered, sarcastic now. Just as Itachi was beginning to become angry, she too was beginning to get impatient. "Is that too much to ask? That I think I have a right to know?"

"No, you don't, Elva!" Itachi glared at her now. "You don't have _any_ right to even _ask_. You're the last person I'd talk about her to." She desperately wanted to ask him to stop looking at her like that, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

_Why did he say that? She's my mother. I should know, shouldn't I? Every girl should know about her mother,_ she stated in her mind, mind automatically whirring into action. _And...Kami, why is he looking at me like that? It's making me feel so guilty...he always does that! He always makes me feel so horrible and...inferior. I wonder if that's it, why I'm always so afraid of—No! She's my mother, and I need to know about her! ...don't I?_

Elva frowned tightly, still thinking in circles and getting off track numerous times, all the while wanting to question her father about what he had said, in a way that wouldn't get her yelled at. The silence was unbearable; after several minutes had passed in this fashion, Itachi still glaring at her, Elva slowly asked, "Did you love her?" He didn't answer. She decided on a different approach. "Then...did you _hate_ her?"

"Stop asking questions!" Itachi shouted, his right hand jabbing into his weapon pouch and pulling out a kunai seconds later, purely on impulse. Elva looked from the weapon back to her father, then shifted her gaze back to the fire, mumbling a poor excuse for an apology. Itachi didn't look like he regretted yelling at her in the slightest, which just made her feel even worse. She realized now just how stupid she had been to think she could possibly start a civil conversation with her father. But it made her stop and think.

"Dad?" Elva finally asked quietly. For the first time that she could remember, her tone actually sounded _sad_. She felt like she was going to cry; she could even feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She refused to look at her father, but she was able to tell Itachi was now watching her.

"Do you hate_ me_?" she eventually asked. She still wasn't crying, but she knew she was going to. She wanted the tears to go away. She viewed tears as a sign of weakness; if she let herself cry now, what would Itachi think? She had already cried before that day. He'd just call her immature if she lost it now and tell her to shut up.

Before she comprehended what was happening, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She tensed, looking at the hand first, then her father. She looked for something in his eyes, something that would reveal that he was mocking her in some way. But she couldn't find it. Instead, he almost looked sorry. Suddenly, he actually seemed like a real human, instead of the imposing monster that, for most of the time Elva had known him, he had seemed to be. It was just about the oddest thing Elva had ever seen. She had never thought she would see Itachi reacting this way to such an honest question.

The tears that she had been trying to keep from spilling couldn't stop themselves any longer, and she collapsed into Itachi's chest, sobbing. He seemed surprised at first, but then slowly wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She kept on crying for what seemed like forever, but she felt_safe_ for once in the presence of her father. Itachi didn't move. He was being incredibly patient with Elva, one thing he had never done before.

But as suddenly as this breakthrough had happened, it stopped abruptly as Itachi pulled away, clearing his throat uncomfortably. Elva looked up, confused, finding Kisame standing on the other side of the fire, having come back from wherever he had gone minutes ago. But now, it seemed like it had been days since he'd been there. He took one look at her tear-stained face, and then rounded on Itachi.

"What did you _do_?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing instinctively.

Itachi stood up slowly, for the first time in a while being the face of reason in the duo. "Kisame...Elva's fine," he told the tall, blue man, holding his hands up in front of him as if to hold Kisame back.

"She's obviously not!" Kisame retorted, taking a step closer to them. "What, did you finally snap and decide to try to kill her yourself or something? What the hell were you thinking? I seriously can't understand you sometimes! You're just so...so..." He tried to find the right word, but the effort was futile; he was left standing there, frowning, and breathing heavily, overworking himself.

"No, we were just talking, we—!" Itachi began, but Kisame quickly cut him off, regaining his ground.

"She's upset!" he yelled, gesturing at Elva. Then he paused, doing a double take. Elva didn't look sad anymore, as Kisame had expected her to be. She was past 'upset' on Kisame's standards, and her own.

She looked from Kisame to Itachi repeatedly, wanting to blurt out a million questions at once. She didn't know who to ask first, nor did she know what to begin with. Finally, she rested on Itachi. "What did Kisame mean, 'decide to kill me yourself?'" she asked, nearly in hysterics.

Itachi's mouth opened slightly, obviously at a loss of words and therefore incapable to answer. He actually looked surprised, but after a moment he composed himself. Elva, on the other hand, was still angry, able to feel her eyes narrowing briefly before looking at Kisame. "What did you mean?" she repeated, having calmed down a little by now.

"He's been—" As suddenly as Kisame had begun to gladly explain to Elva what was going on, he stopped. Finally, he said, "It's not my place to tell; it's your father's problem, not mine."

"I have a right to know," Elva said quietly, now both looking and feeling hurt. They didn't trust her – that much was obvious. She looked back at her father. "...Dad. If you hate me...you could just say so. You never answered when I asked, anyway."

Instead of answering her, Itachi glanced at Kisame, beginning to look angrier. "What were you doing?" he demanded, furrowing his brow. "Where did you go?"

Kisame immediately rounded on him again, regaining all of his former anger. "Hey, don't change the subject, you son of a..." He trailed off, glancing at Elva, who had since raised her eyebrows at the blue man. "...you baka. She has a right to know. Why can't you just tell her? Is it really that hard?"

"Yes, it actually is, as odd as it may seem," Itachi responded softly, walking closer to Kisame in a threatening fashion. "Answer the fucking question already." If it was already possible at this point, Elva raised her eyebrows even more, but this time also covered her ears, looking away out into random space.

The blue man shrugged this time, looking caught off guard this time at Itachi swearing. He glanced at Elva, but then seemed to flush, although it was more a deep blue color than red. "I just...went looking around. I didn't...kill...anyone," he mumbled sheepishly.

"You can't stop yourself, can you?" Itachi muttered darkly, rolling his eyes quickly and spinning on his heel to start away toward Elva again.

"Oh, please!" Kisame retorted, scowling. "Coming from the man who killed his entire clan in less than a day? You do realize you could have just_ talked_ to them, Itachi-san, or at least challenged them to a fight. It's not a real test of your strength if they don't even know you're coming. How'd you keep track of them all, anyway? Were you checking them off as they died?"

He glared back at the blue man. "Look, I didn't kill them _all_. I'm not completely heartless. Unlike you, I killed them quickly, at least. You just spend your happy, little time slicing them up piece by piece. Who's heartless now?" Kisame pulled the handle of Samehada, swinging it in front of him menacingly. Itachi laughed harshly: "Oh, please. You think that little thing is going to scare me. You baby it too much. Can't you do anything else for a change?"

"You're one to talk!" Kisame yelled back, raising his tone significantly. "Mr. Sharingan-lover! Every two _fucking_ seconds it's 'Oh! I feel like using Tsukoyomi!' or 'Well, I feel like activating my Sharingan, so I'll just rub it in my kid's face and make her feel inferior by showing her she won't ever be able to do something so complicated!' Seriously. What the fuck's wrong with you? And then – oh! Sasuke! Every other hour, something will happen, and you stop or something and you get all quiet and you expect me to act if you're all right or something, when really, I don't give a shit! You left him alive, he wants to kill you,_ get the hell over it_!"

"Why would Sasuke want to kill you?" Elva asked, looking at Itachi. She had taken her hands away from her ears, apparently getting used to hearing so many swears already. "He ran away from Konoha, didn't he? And then Leader-sama mentioned him at the meeting. Why does he want to kill you?" She paused, and then made a face. "And...what's his goal? Leader-sama talked about that, too."

Itachi fell silent now. He was obviously still ridiculously angry with Kisame, but was now looking at Elva instead. "...well..." He sighed, gesturing for Elva to come closer. Once she had, he paused, almost looking like he might want to put a hand on her shoulder, but refrained from doing so. "It's...complicated," he said quietly.

"I'm listening," Elva said, frowning. _What's wrong?_ she wondered to herself. _Did I ask the wrong thing?_

"I should have told you earlier," he continued, resisting the urge to run a hand through his hair. He folded his arms across his chest before continuing: "Sasuke...you know he's my brother. He's twelve years younger than me. When I...killed my clan...I didn't kill him. Don't ask why; I couldn't answer if I wanted to. ...but he wants me dead, and he wants to be the one to do it. Do you understand?"

Elva stared at Itachi for a moment or two, and then slowly felt herself nodding. "Yes, sir," she said softly, biting her bottom lip. She desperately wanted to step forward and hug her father, more to comfort herself than make him feel better, but didn't. Instead, she looked at Kisame, saying, "...can you please not swear as much, Kisame?"

Kisame laughed, walked forward to ruffle her hair, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, all the while still continuing to chuckle. "Sure, kiddo," he said as Elva ducked under his arm and away towards the fire, rolling her eyes and straightening her hair. "Sure. I won't."

**Author's Note:**

**Finally – my first new-version reviewer!**

_**Voldanita **_I didn't think anyone would subtract the difference. Thanks! 1,131 words it is. I feel honored that you've been following this story for such a long time – I actually think I remember when I got an email saying you had put it on your Story Alert. You were one of the first people to do so; I don't know if I ever thanked you, so thanks...again!

Kisame and Itachi are in character?? Well...maybe (note how I'm saying MAYBE) Itachi...and I'm trying to keep Kisame in character. It's just... –sigh- Why can't Masashi Kishimoto make a chapter where Kisame has to baby-sit a little kid or something?! That'd be so helpful?

I'm trying to add more detail...but I wasn't sure anyone would read it after I had added so much. I mean...I'm already a pretty sucky writer (I LOVE putting myself down!), but adding so much more, it's probably torture for everyone who's reading it.

**All right, so...that's all I could think of for that. Thanks again, Voldanita! I'm watching that one episode of Hannah Montana where Miley and Lilly's parents go on a date...when Miley found out they fought over paying the check, I was just like... 0.o WTF. If ANYONE offered to pay the check for me, I'd just smile and agree politely. **

**Anywhoos, I is taking the high school entrance exam-o tomorrow. I hate grammar – I'm probably going to fail horribly at that. ...today in Lit we wrote a practice essay in a half hour (the time given for the test), and my other two friends and I were talking about it afterward. It was about whether or not Illinois should have health classes and P.E. everyday for students. All three of us started with the same thing: The United States is the fattest country in the world. All of us. Different wording, of course, but it was creepy, nonetheless!**

**Another idea for a review! Wish me luck on the entrance exams! ...I mean...since it's a public school, they can't NOT let me in...but a certain 17 percent hints that I may fail so horribly I'm sent back to first grade (go random percentages like L's!). ...I like first grade, so why did I just diss it?? ...I'm making my brain hurt.**

**PLEASE review!!**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	6. Accidents and Consequences

**Disclaimer: **

**I do not own **_**Naruto. **_**It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

_Wow. This sure is...awkward._

Elva glanced over at Kisame, who was crouching down, poking the fire patiently. She cocked her head to the side, rubbing her eyes before stretching and yawning loudly. Kisame looked up for a split second, a questioning smile playing across his features for a moment before going back down to his task. It wasn't even that much of a task: Re-start the fire. Big whoop.

Now Elva turned her gaze to Itachi. He sat cross-legged several feet away from her, leaning over an old, worn map that refused to stop moving. Every other second, another gust of wind would blow across the area they had stopped to rest in, and every time this occurred, Elva realized it was getting colder and colder. She sighed audibly, rolling her eyes. _Man, isn't it supposed to get warmer as the day goes on? It's been an hour, and conditions still haven't let up._

Thinking of this, she looked skyward. Above the three, storm clouds were brewing. Huge, black, rolling clouds hung above them menacingly, just as they had been for what had seemed like forever. This was Kumogakure's climate, according to Kisame, so it wouldn't make any difference for them to wait. Still, Itachi had insisted they remain where they were, if at the very least just to think of a plan further than they already had.

Elva hated silence. It bothered her, and made her feel uncomfortable. She did enjoy the chance relief from the loud on-goings in Konoha, but this was just getting unbearable. There were no birds – no animals skittering around, and not even any crickets chirping. She fidgeted, sighing louder this time in an attempt to get Itachi's attention. And she got it. "Elva," he said sharply, catching her off guard. "I need to focus. Bother Kisame if you want attention so badly."

She was about to argue when Kisame looked up again. "Geez, Itachi, what makes you think I'm not working hard over here, too?" Itachi looked at him in a way that said, 'Well, obviously you aren't. It's just a fire, after all.' At seeing this, the blue man abruptly stopped trying to get the fire to burn again, throwing the flint and stick at the ground. "Fine. If you don't want my help, you won't get it."

Apparently not seeming to care, Itachi shrugged and returned to looking at the map. He cupped one side of his face in his right hand, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. _All right,_ Elva grumbled to herself. _No use talking to them now. ...I'm still bored. – Hey! Maybe I can help out myself, if Kisame doesn't want to._

Having made up this 'wise' decision, Elva stood and went to the fire, kneeling and brushing her hair out of her face. Realizing it was still down among her shoulders, she leaned back to grab a hair tie out of her bag, which had always been placed closer to the fire, and pulled her hair back, creating a sloppy ponytail. With this, she fell silent, frowning slightly. _What was it Iruka-sensei said?_ she asked herself, going through her old lessons.

After considering the right hand signs, she formed the symbols and hesitantly said under her breath, "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu." She rested her index and middle finger next to her mouth, took a deep breath, and blew. Immediately, three or four balls of flame shot out in the direction of the fire. Elva gasped, smiling widely. "I-I did it!" she exclaimed, quickly standing and turning to point to the fire while looking over at Itachi, as if for approval.

Suddenly behind her, she heard a crackling sound. Turning around, she screamed, instantly rushing back. The fire had not hit the wood, but instead around it, causing the grass on the ground to burst into flames, quickly spreading. Itachi rushed forward, pushing her to the side as he threw a glare at her. "Goddamn it, Elva! Can't you do anything right?" he demanded. "I told you to leave everything to us."

"No, you didn't!" Elva shouted back, balling her hands into fists. By now, Kisame had hurried forward to help put out the fire, as well. "You never said that. It was an accident, I swear!" she continued, watching as her father hurried to stomp out the flames. "You know I wouldn't do something like that on purpose!"

"Suiton: Suigadan!" Kisame yelled, putting two fingers to his mouth as Elva had done moments before. But instead of more fire coming out, a water bullet shot out at the remaining flames, putting them out instantly. After a minute or so had passed in silence, he seemed to have calmed down from the excitement caused by the fire, and went over to their packs to make sure nothing had been destroyed.

Itachi whirled on her. Elva immediately averted her gaze to the ground, biting her bottom lip and clenching her fists again. She expected a beating now, even though her father had made a point never to hit her, or at the very least have him yell at her. "No. I don't know," Itachi said quietly, causing Elva to pause and look up. He looked furious, but his tone was shockingly calm. "No, Elva, I don't know that you wouldn't – or didn't – just do that on purpose. If you think I trust you, then I believe you'll find I'm sorely mistaken."

Elva stared up at him, gaping, hurt. "It was an accident," she whispered, barely inaudible.

Itachi watched her for a moment longer, then scoffed and looked over at Kisame. "We're leaving," he announced, bending down to pick up the map and rolling it with one hand. "Now."

* * *

_Yeah, like I can very well just ask him to train me now,_ Elva thought bitterly, looking down at the ground pointedly. _I'd get an interesting response, that's for sure. "Why, Elva? So you can burn down the Akatsuki hideout while I'm asleep?" It was an accident! How hard is it for him to realize that? _She stopped walking suddenly, frowning. _Wait...where are we, anyway? _She glanced around for Kisame or Itachi, but froze when she saw neither was in sight. _Shoot! Where are they?_

"...Dad?" she called out softly, although she didn't expect an answer. She cleared her throat, trying again: "Dad?" This time is was reasonably louder, but still, she received no answer. _Great. I'm lost._

Attempting to put that fact behind her, Elva started off again, at least trying to find Kumogakure. At the very least, she could find the village and hopefully locate Kisame and Itachi there. But it made her stop to think again. _Hold on. Why would they have left? Do they realize I'm gone? Do they care? Are they looking for me? Should I be looking for them? Is Dad worried? Did they take a wrong turn, or did I?_

"No!" Elva shouted, this time out loud. "Stop it! Just concentrate for once in your life, Elva, and focus on getting out of here!" For a few seconds, her voice echoed in the forest, and all other sounds ceased to exist. All of the birds stopped chirping momentarily; the snakes stopped slithering along the ground, halting at the loud sound.

"Sorry," she murmured, wincing once she realized what she had done. Almost immediately afterward though, she gaped at herself. "Oh, come _on_! You're talking to yourself _and_ animals now, Elva?! Get real!"

But her outburst didn't account for nothing. She hadn't been walking in the forest for ten minutes longer before, suddenly, a ninja appeared in front of her. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden change in scenery, whereupon she gasped, freezing once more. "Hello again," the ninja said, drawing himself up to full height. "How are you today, princess?" Elva didn't say a word. "Oh, come now," he continued, pouting now. "Aren't you going to say something, little girl? I'm sure your friends will be looking for you. Or were they so heartless they just left you?"

It was the same shinobi that she had run into the other day, who would have done only Kami-knows-what had Kisame and Itachi not found her. Or more so, _Kisame_ had found her, seeing as Itachi had hated her that day. Slowly, Elva found her voice, and she scowled, glaring at the man. "Shut up," she snapped. "Just leave me alone, okay?"

The shinobi smirked. "Now, since when has that worked?" Behind her, Elva heard movement, but she didn't react quickly enough. She gasped in pain as another person punched her hard in the back. Just as suddenly as this had happened, she lost consciousness.

* * *

"_Have you gotten a little taller, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, looking at the boy facing him from across the room. Although his face was obscured by the darkness, making any of defining features disappear, the boy's eyes betrayed him. He glared with intense hatred at Itachi, his fists tightening at his sides._

_The boy was Sasuke._

"_...you haven't changed at all," Sasuke muttered quickly, as if he couldn't keep the words in any longer. "You still have those heartless, cold eyes of yours."_

_There was a short pause, during which the two young men merely stared at one another in dead silence. Finally, Itachi asked, "Aren't you going to yell and run at me like last time?"_

_Sasuke started chuckling under his breath almost immediately after Itachi had finished his assumption. A bright, ghostly light appeared out of nowhere and lit up his face, contorting his features and making him seem to appear from out of a nightmare. Instead of rounding on the other man, he turned swiftly on his heel and eyed the girl, gripping his katana in his hand. _

_As he approached her, he enjoyed the fear that was clearly written on her face. "I'm going to kill you now," he told her when he had finally reached her, leaning forward to whisper it in her ear. "And I assure you, it is going to be very...very...painful."_

Elva's eyes shot open, but she closed them right away, due to the amount of light that had flooded into the room. But then, she stopped. "Where am I?" she asked herself aloud as she sat upright in bed, looking around the room. It was a fairly spacious room, with warm, beige walls and an ebony-tiled floor. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, a shiver running up her spine when her feet met the cool, hard floor.

She turned around to look at her bed. It was made of a dark, chocolate brown wood, and could fit at least two or three people comfortably. The sheets were a light cream, complimented the shades of gold and burnt oranges that were found in the pillows and comforter. On impulse, she picked up one of the patterned pillows and hugged it close to her chest, simply to feel safer. Then she frowned.

She held the pillow away from her body, instead looking down at what she was wearing. It didn't feel like she was wearing the same, now old and muddy red shirt and khaki shorts she had started off wearing at the beginning of their mission from Akatsuki. Now she was wearing a soft, cotton nightgown that was the perfect shade of baby blue. She felt herself smile slowly – it made her feel special, in an odd way. However much her mind was telling her that everything about this whole set-up was wrong, she couldn't help but feel calm and happy.

But something was still bothering her, and she knew it. There was always a chance that all of this was a dream, but as far as she could tell, she had already had a dream that night, and she was already awake. And here she was, in the morning, in a place she couldn't recognize if her life depended on it. Just as she was about to go out the tall, curved door and start exploring, a woman entered the room.

The woman was short and portly – there was no way around that. But she seemed kind, too; she had light, wavy brown hair that was bundled into a tight bun on the top of her head. There were wisps on gray that could easily be discerned from the vibrant color that dominated her head, but besides that there were no other signs that could determine her age. She had bright, cheerful eyes that were dark blue and that, when she smiled, crinkled at the edges. All in all, it reminded Elva of her grandmother in the oddest way, although she had been blond, not brunette.

"Good morning," the woman greeted cheerfully, rushing forward to clasp Elva's hand. Elva felt herself laugh and smile back, nodding her head yet finding herself unable to answer. The woman chuckled before patting her hand and saying, "Now, now, I'm sure you've got plenty of questions. And they'll all be answered soon enough. My name is Kameko. It's lovely to meet you."

She paused, indicating that Elva should introduce herself as well. "Oh!" the girl exclaimed when she realized the woman was waiting. "I'm Elva. Umeko Elva. It's great meeting you, too."

Kameko frowned slightly, a new look for her. After a tense moment between them, Elva thinking she had said something wrong, the woman asked, "Umeko? Where are you from, Elva?"

"Konoha," Elva answered, although she didn't know what it had to do with anything.

"...would you be, by any chance, related to the old feudal lord, Kasumaru?" Kameko then asked, perking an eyebrow. She looked more inquisitive now, and had stopped frowning, so Elva thought it was all right.

"Yeah. He was my grandfather," she responded, nodding. "Why?"

Kameko quickly composed herself. "Oh, nothing," she said cheerfully, taking Elva's hand again. "Now come along. You're a guest here; Masakazu-sama is waiting for you. He has a lot to ask you." She began to pull Elva along with her, but Elva pulled away.

_Masakazu?_ Elva wanted to ask. _The person Akatsuki wanted to question? Has he heard from an Uchiha Itachi, or from a Hoshigaki Kisame? Does he know of them? Does he know they're coming to interrogate him?_ But she didn't. Instead, she gestured down at her nightgown and said sheepishly, "I can't meet him like this, can I?"

Kameko laughed heartily, putting an arm around the girl's shoulder as Kisame often did, pulling her along again. "Oh, it's quite all right, now. Masakazu-sama has plenty of children himself. He's used to it. No need to worry."

**Author's Note:**

_**SydneyIsQueen – **_Aw, thanks! You're actually going to go read some of my other fanfics? I SO luff you know! -glomps- ...erm...never mind. And Shippuuden (the anime part) isn't that good, in my opinion. I still make a point to read the manga every week when it comes out, but I haven't grown to love the anime like I used to. -shrugs- Well, I've also been trying out other mangas, like Death Note and Fruits Basket. I LOVE Fruits Basket. ...it's just...so...SHIGURE'S AWESOME! I'll stop now.

_**Rambonata**__ – _Thanks! I really appreciate you taking the time (and everyone, really) and reviewing my story. It helps me write the chapter faster...even though it may not seem like it. And thanks for favorite-ing it and alerting it - That helps, too.

**0.o Elva is...like...kidnapped. Well, not really. Or **_**was**_** she really kidnapped? Why was she kidnapped if she was? HA! I wouldn't tell you if you begged me...but you won't, seeing as this chapter sucked more than usual. Is there a point to this at all? Just the plot line...see? I really did leave out a lot in the original, now didn't I?**

**Oh, joy. I'm watching "The Mummy." Not that old, black-and-white one. I hate those movies – I can't stand them. It's the newer one, with the lady named Evelyn and the guy named Rick...if that helps. Hmm. That mummy sure is ugly. I almost feel bad for it. I mean...the first time Evelyn sees him; she's just like, "AGH!" And the mummy's like... "I'm-gonna-stare-at-you-like-a-stalker-just-to-freak-you-out." Rock on, mummy!**

**Oh! Last week, there was this dance on Friday (not really a dance, per se...I certainly don't consider it one. It's a laid-back party, really, but at school), and my best guy friend asked me out, which made me uber-happy. . And today at school, we were trying to get people to stop asking us questions...yet, here I am, telling the whole FanFiction world...that reads this story, that is. **

**I don't have anything to wear, so part of the reason I haven't been on that much was because of that. I went shopping, but couldn't find anything I liked. Curse you, stick-thin models. You all need to just starve yourselves to death (not that you already **_**haven't**_**) and crawl into corners and die...yeah. The other reasons why I wasn't posting the new chapter was (a) I spent Saturday hanging out with my dad, and (b) I spent Sunday at this weird concert in downtown Chicago...for four hours...**

**A few times before, people have PMed me, asking me if the reason Itachi is so mean to Elva sometimes is because my own dad is mean to me...yeah, that's not true! :D My pops and I are pals! Sure, he gets upset that I don't play golf like he does...but that's just a minor difference. We share many things in common...like our hatred for "The Golden Compass." We just didn't like it.**

**I would give you a reason to review this chapter...but I can't think of one. Just...I don't know. -shrugs- Be creative for once. Do I have to do everything around here?! ... (Btw, that was sarcasm, for those select few that don't understand what it means.)**

_**PLEASE review!**_

**-Meri Umeko-**


	7. More Changes

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto**_**. It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Elva assumed the hallways were equally as beautiful as the room she had spent the night in, yet she couldn't bring herself to look up from the floor. She thought that, if she tried hard enough, she could imagine Kameko was Kisame, and that that would comfort her a bit. But still, even that made Elva bite her bottom lip to prevent herself from crying as the reality dawned on her that Itachi, or even Kisame, may never come back to save her. If she even needed to be saved in the first place, that is.

The silence that somehow prevailed in the huge building – house, mansion, whatever it was – only made Elva feel worse. Kameko's heavy footsteps washed out the sounds of Elva's, which only succeeded in making her feel even less significant than she had already felt, totally and completely out of place in the huge, luxurious _place. _Eventually, though, to Elva's relief, Kameko squeezed the girl close to her for less than a moment before releasing her, turning to face her.

She studied the young girl for several seconds, apparently deciding that she did not appear suitable, and started brushing her coarse fingers through Elva's long, black hair. Elva fought the urge to cry out, feeling the fingers ripping through the tangles that had existed unknown to Elva, only due to the fact that she always wore her hair in a ponytail. After a couple of minutes had passed uncomfortably, Kameko let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a scoff, before she quickly covered it up by clearing her throat.

With that, she smiled brightly, one that could rival one of Elva's on her most cheerful day. Elva almost cringed at this, attempting to smile back. Kameko chuckled, patting her on the back. "Are you ready to meet our fearless leader?" she asked, her tone hopeful yet, at the same time, a little threatening.

Elva very nearly asked if she meant Tsunade-sama, Konoha's Hokage, when she stopped. _Masakazu,_ she realized with dread. After forcing a bigger smile onto her face, she nodded. "Yes, please, ma'am."

Kameko seemed pleased, if not somewhat relieved, and once again wrapped an arm around Elva's shoulders, pushing open a large, deep red door that had seemed to appear out of nowhere, and ushered Elva inside. With that, she disappeared. Elva froze, hearing the door shut loudly behind her. She stared ahead, slowly frowning, as she caught sight of someone maybe three or four years older than her father. _…is that Masakazu?_ she found herself asking, confused.

As if to answer her question, the man stood, advancing toward her. Elva studied him, only growing more and more confused as she continued to do so. Masakazu was, first off, a very thin and fragile-looking man, which Elva wouldn't have thought a feudal lord to look like. Secondly, he had long, shaggy, bright red hair. It hung far below his eye line, obscuring more of his face. He definitely wasn't like any other rich person Elva had ever seen, topping off his own look with a baggy, white shirt and equally baggy, long, black pants.

Eventually he reached Elva, at which point he stuck out one of his hands, the only trace of emotion that could be discerned from his face a simple smirk. Elva finally got herself to start thinking again, her mind whirring, _Why is he doing that? …does he want me to shake his hand? Is he making fun of me? What does he want me to –_ Suddenly, as if by magic or some sort of ninja trick, her mind shut off, her body quickly bending over in a deep bow.

"Pleasure to meet you, as well, miss," Masakazu said smoothly, his voice a little above a whisper. "If you hadn't already been told, I am one of Kumogakure's seven or so feudal lords, yet the only to know_ anything_ of the Akatsuki and their whereabouts." Just as he finished, Elva's mind spun back up, sending her to a straight position on her feet again.

"…yes, sir – um, Masakazu-sama," Elva quickly replied, her heart racing. She continued to speak while her mind continued running. _What just happened?_ "But…uh…sir?" _Does he know who I am?_ "What is Akatsuki?" _Well, obviously, he does. Or at least he thinks he does. …maybe I can talk myself out of this._

She quickly threw away the idea, however, when she looked up at Masakazu again, a sound having caught her attention. Masakazu was laughing uproariously, holding his side for support. Yet there was something about his laugh that frightened Elva – something cruel and ridiculing. Scowling, Elva opened her mouth to say something, but Masakazu held up a hand, his laughter dying down. "Please," he uttered, as Elva felt her supply of air – and the ability to speak – disappear. "We have guests, do we not?"

Elva's face contorted into a look of fear and confusion. She wanted to ask, or at least_ think_, who he meant. Luckily, though, she was answered soon enough. Masakazu looked over Elva's head as she heard the door shut again behind her, smiling good-naturedly. "Same-kun! Chi-san, how are you these days? Oh, how I've missed both of your company! Life is so boring ruling a village when there's no outside resistance!"

One of the voices spoke up first. "…E-Elva…?" Elva instantly recognized it, and just as she willed her to turn around, Masakazu made a small movement with his wrist, and she spun around, gasping.

"Kisame!" she exclaimed, rushing forward and wrapping her arms around him.

Masakazu chuckled lightly behind them. "Aw…Same-kun, is she yours? I hadn't expected so – she looks more like Chi-san – but I suppose anything's possible. She was looking a bit _blue_ earlier." At that, he chuckled again, causing Kisame to tense up suddenly.

"What did you—?" Something cut Kisame off, but this time it wasn't Masakazu doing. Elva looked up, eyes widening when she heard another voice.

"Well, that must have been fun, no?" Itachi wondered aloud. "I've always wanted to try a trick like that, but _Same-kun_ would have broken my neck." He glanced at Elva, his eyes instinctively narrowing into his signature glare. "What trouble have you gotten into now?"

"Oh, so she's yours?" Masakazu asked, laughing louder this time. "I thought so. I'm glad you've admitted to it. I hate being wrong." He paused, then continued, "So, on a…lighter subject, perhaps…Chi-san, Same-kun, have you two come to kill me?" He said this so light-naturely, it surprised Elva.

Kisame rolled his eyes, pushing Elva to stand further away from Masakazu. "Don't be so cocky. It's two against one. You have no chance." He glanced at Itachi then, almost questioningly. "…either way, we aren't here to kill you…are we, Itachi-san?"

"Not unless it's necessary," Itachi responded, nodding slightly, always watching Masakazu. "We need your word." When Masakazu scoffed, Itachi's tone became harsher: "You don't want us to have to resort to harsh measures, do you? You will not tell anyone of Akatsuki. Anything."

There was a heavy silence here, during which Masakazu laughed again, enjoying every moment of the intense awkwardness. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he spoke up again. "…1,000 ryou," he announced. There was a brief pause, but then Itachi nodded. Masakazu smirked. "Per day," he then added.

Elva bit her bottom lip, stealing a glance at her father. Itachi seemed to honestly be considering the offer. She looked at Kisame, who was also watching Itachi, although he was smiling venomously, as if he knew what Itachi was thinking. Then Itachi spoke up. "Very well. 1,000 ryou a day. We'll be by tonight with the first payment."

"Sorry," Masakazu told them, attempting to look contrite. "My apologies, but I've been housing this little sweetheart here," he said, gesturing to Elva. "That's _two_ days worth of ryou. 2,000. Tonight."

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly, but after another tense moment he nodded. "Yes. 2,000." He paused, then added, "And if you meet us outside the estate _alone_, we'll double it to 4,000." For the first time, Masakazu looked shocked – at the very least, his mouth looked shocked, as it was left open in surprise. He quickly nodded, rushing to the door to hold it open for them.

After the three had exited, he slammed the door behind them, Elva jumping at the sound. She looked at Itachi, frowning. "Dad, 4,000 ryou? How can you afford that? How can _Akatsuki _afford that?" When he didn't answer, Elva sighed, figuring he was still angry with her.

Then, to her surprise, he spoke up. "Don't worry," he said quietly. "We'll take care of it."

* * *

"_Have you…gotten a little taller?" Itachi asked, looking at Sasuke from across the room. Although his face was obscured by the darkness, making any of defining features disappear, Sasuke's eyes betrayed him. He glared with intense hatred at Itachi, his fists tightening at his sides._

"_...you haven't changed at all," Sasuke muttered quickly, as if he couldn't keep the words in any longer. "You still have those heartless, cold eyes of yours."_

_There was a short pause, during which the two young men merely stared at one another in dead silence. Finally, Itachi asked, "Aren't you going to yell and run at me like last time?" His tone was mocking and cruel, as if to say he didn't care what Sasuke said of him; that he still, and always would, hold the same impression of his useless little brother._

_Sasuke laughed harshly, throwing his head back as he did so. He looked at Itachi, eyes narrowing even more than they had been before. "You know nothing about me," he informed his brother, his left hand suddenly exploding into a thick ball of bright lightening. Within an instant, the ball burst forward, creating a pointed edge that resembled a katana blade. _

_Sasuke spun around behind Itachi, thrusting the makeshift sword through his back…_

"Elva," Kisame whispered urgently, shaking Elva gently at first, and then slightly rougher. They had traveled for hours after leaving Kumogakure, something that had especially surprised Elva, after hearing her father's special offer to Masakazu having to do with his payment. She had ultimately fallen asleep when they had stopped to rest, leaving Kisame to wake her up now. "Elva, please, you need to get up!"

After several seconds had passed, Elva sat up, trying to wake up completely. "Is something wrong?" she asked, frowning.

Kisame paused, his mouth hanging open. He seemed to be considering how to say what he needed to say in his mind, but suddenly said, "The extraction of Shukaku is going to be taking place soon. Even though Itachi-san and I can help during it when we aren't at Akatsuki, we need to be as close as possible as to maximize how much we can help."

Elva nodded, trying to appear like she knew what that meant. She stood up, stretching for a moment before looking to her father, who she hadn't yet realized was there until then. Itachi leaned against a tree, holding one of his weapons. Elva normally would have thought nothing of it, but this was different – the sword that he held, oddly enough, was stained with fresh blood.

For a brief moment, Elva thought she was going to be sick. She tore her gaze away from the sword to her father, finding that before she could even ask what had happened that he was more than willing to tell her. "Masakazu is dead," Itachi told her impassively, wiping off the blood with an old cloth from his weapon bag. "We took care of him."

_After the three had exited, he slammed the door behind them, Elva jumping at the sound. She looked at Itachi, frowning. "Dad, 4,000 ryou? How can you afford that? How can _Akatsuki _afford that?" When he didn't answer, Elva sighed, figuring he was still angry with her._

_Then, to her surprise, he spoke up. "Don't worry," he said quietly. "We'll take care of it."_

**Author's Note:**

_**SydneyIsQueen**_ Yeah, I've read parts of 'Pillow Fights and Brotherly Love.' As you may read farther into this A/N, I've been sick since Friday (coincidentally the day I just happened to return from Florida for the holidays), so I haven't checked my mail recently. Therefore, I wasn't able to read a lot of your story, but I will soon, when I have time. It's just been bothering me that I haven't updated…and therefore, this chapter may just be the worst in the story. My apologies…and condolences for having to read it (and now, I shall hide in my pre-padlocked closet, to protect myself from the evil people that will try to kill me after reading this chappie).

_**Valbino **_You're right; Itachi's seven…erm…six…years older than Sasuke. I never get that, because on some fanfics it says Sasuke was seven when he started the academy, whereas Itachi was thirteen, and ones where Sasuke was six, and Itachi was still thirteen. But…I mean…after Shippuuden, Itachi's, like, twenty-one. He can't have a ten-year-old daughter… 0.o Well, he _could_, but I'm not getting into that. (I wanted Elva to be thirteen or fourteen originally, but that's really going too far, isn't it? And anyway, that's where all of the Uchiha-Sues happen to be in fanfics! xD …yeah, it may seem stupid that my charrie is half-Uchiha – and I realize that's really Sue – but she's a horrible shinobi…kunoichi. WHATEVER. Sexist much, Kishimoto, with the different names?! …yeah, I'll just stop now, since I write the A/N's before I start the chapters, so I don't forget replying to reviewers. Bye!

**I'm sick…again. Does this seem a little…I dunno…repetitive? Yeah, I was sick when I wrote Chapter One, too (I think I wrote it in the A/N…). But it's not strep (YAY)! …it's the flu…and I have a cough. WTF, virus, why a COUGH?! My sister was walking around with a scarf around her mouth for the three days before I went to the doctor because she thought I had MONO. …well, I mean, she's always sick, so I wouldn't be surprised if one of these days she's actually right…but I sure hope not.**

**SWEENEY TODD WAS FUCKING AWESOME! (YAY, I'm so happy that, since this is rated T, I can swear.) I won't give out any spoilers…although I want to…but I have one thing to say – TOBY IS SO HACKING AWESOME (how can I be so hyper when I'm dying of intense chest pains…? 0.o). Whenever I saw him on the screen, I kept on thinking, "OMIGOD, TOBI IS A GOOD BOY!" …I have issues. I saw it with my sister and my mom, and my sister loved it, too. But my mom was all…like…GAH. She's like, "Oh, my…oh, my…I'm having a mental-physical breakdown! I can't…breath…Mere, why'd you make me come?!" (Mere's my sister…and oh, my, I just gave you her name. …erm…nickname. STALKERS.)**

**OH. Right. I meant to add this in my reply to Valbino, but if you want some background story that helps my story make more sense (and not disgustingly wrong – ITACHI WITH A KID AT ELEVEN! . ), you can search 'Bored-ism' on the Author's Search. She's writing a really good (MUCH, MUCH better than mine!) fanfic about Elva's parents. …but you're not allowed to give away spoilers in reviews, because people only reading her story don't know about Elva…yet. HA. She's going to destroy their lives.**

**Reason to review for this chappie : …complain about how freakishly long my A/N's are becoming. They're taking over the chapters, aren't they?? …even if they aren't, PLEASE SAY SO. …or at least…review.**

**PLEASE review!**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	8. Feelings of Betrayal

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto**_**. It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"Focus."

There was a pause, during which no one made a sound. The only other sound to be heard was the wind, rustling the branches of the trees around them and the grass below, whipping around everywhere it could reach. Everything else was silent. Everything else was waiting. A storm was coming.

"Elva, focus," Itachi repeated, his voice barely audible. "It's now or never." Another pause now, during which Itachi was waiting for Elva to acknowledge him. She nodded stiffly, still standing in the same frozen position, holding a shuriken on her index finger, ready to throw. "…okay. Take your arm back."

She slowly bent her arm back, closing her eyes as she did so. She swallowed loudly, letting out a long breath as she settled into the new formation. Itachi now took a step closer to her, adjusting her arm into a more exact ninety-degree angle that it had been in, before stepping back again. "Now…whenever you're ready…throw it."

Elva took another long, deep breath, holding it in this time. She felt her arm stiffen slightly, but as suddenly as this had happened, she thrust her arm forward, the shuriken being spun off somewhere ahead of her. Or so she thought.

She stood there for a moment, frowning ahead at the rows of trees. "I don't see it," she said quietly, eyes narrowing partially as she tried to see further into the forest. Behind her, Kisame stifled a laugh. She could hear Itachi sighing, and more rustling now, although now it wasn't the wind that was causing the sound.

She turned around, but immediately froze, seeing Itachi slowly standing up, dusting off his Akatsuki robe. Beside him, the shuriken was embedded into the ground where he had just been standing. She quickly took a step toward him, blurting out, "I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't mean to! I told you we shouldn't have started with this! I-I promise I'll do better, and I'll practice a ton more once we—"

"It's all right," Itachi said calmly, having finished getting the dust off of his robe. He glanced at Kisame, then gestured over his shoulder. "We need to keep moving. Akatsuki is still two days' journey away, and the extraction starts tonight."

Kisame nodded, starting after Itachi after he had began to walk away, Elva still standing there. She remained silent for a moment, then spoke up: "…um…sir? We haven't eaten yet," she pointed out before motioning back toward the scattered shuriken and kunai by the trees. "And we need to get the weapons, right?"

Kisame tossed a pleading look at Itachi, then put in, "I have to admit, Itachi-san, I _am_ a bit tired from all of the traveling we've been doing lately." When Itachi remained unmoved, he persisted. "Come on, Itachi-san, ten minutes won't hurt us."

There was a long silence, and Elva secretly wished Kisame hadn't sided with her. Even more, she wished she hadn't said anything in the first place. Weapons were easy to replace, and anyway, she was used to not eating a lot. But to her surprise, and probably Kisame's as well, Itachi abruptly seemed to change his mind and approach them, sitting on the ground and beginning to unpack his traveling bag. "Thank you, Elva. You're right," he said stiffly, glancing at Kisame out of the corner of his eyes.

Kisame gave Elva a wide, toothy grin, pretending to seem oblivious to Itachi's gaze. Elva frowned slightly, looking between her father and Kisame, when she smiled back, and mouthed her thanks silently. Then, she also sat, followed by Kisame, and wrapped her arms around her knees. She rocked back and forth several times in silence, then stopped and looked at Itachi. "…um…what do you have to eat?" she asked quietly.

Itachi stopped rummaging through his sack, looking up at Elva for a moment before stealing another quick glance at Kisame before sighing. "Here," he said, a grudging edge creeping into his tone in the slightest way. He took a roll of bread and tossed it to Kisame, before handing Elva a small, wrapped bundle.

"What's in it?" she asked, even though at the same time she was opening it, tearing the hard, brown-packaging paper off before turning the food over in her hand multiple times. "…what is it?" she repeated, holding it about a foot away from her face to get a better look at it.

"If you don't want it, don't eat it," Itachi replied, staring dryly at Elva now. "You have seven minutes to finish eating and gather your weapons. I suggest you hurry up. You're a slow eater."

Somehow, hearing that from her father made Elva feel embarrassed, but she shrugged it off and continued inspecting the food, unable to discern what it was. It was about the size of her palm, and took the shape of an apple, making Elva think it might be fruit. It had a slightly green tint to it, but in the dark shade of the trees looked almost brown.

Shrugging, she brought it to her mouth and took a bite, chewing it in silence. It took her a moment to realize that Itachi was staring at her, an almost expectant look on her face. When she had swallowed, she made a face, raising an eyebrow. "Do you need something?" she asked.

Itachi's mouth twitched upward in a tight smirk. "I knew it," he stated quietly, mostly to himself.

"…you knew…what?" Elva asked, confused. _What is he talking about? It's fruit. I like fruit. …except kiwis, but I've always hated them. And it tasted good, so— _She froze, her eyes growing wide. She slowly brought the fruit up to eye level with a trembling hand, looking at it closely. The inside was bright green.

She screamed, throwing it as far as she could. "What's the matter with you?!" she demanded, glaring at Itachi. "Are you trying to kill me? That's a kiwi! I should've known you would have tried to do something mean!"

Itachi remained smirking, shaking his head now. "…you never actually tried one before now, did you?" he asked, cocking his head to the side in a know-it-all fashion.

Elva immediately flushed bright red, and she opened her mouth to say something. For one of the only times in her life, nothing came out. She closed her mouth, then took a deep breath to launch into a rant about how cruel Itachi had been by tricking her into eating a kiwi. Then, she sighed, giving up. "…technically, no…" she admitted.

Kisame chuckled to himself, but a look from Elva made him clear his throat and busy himself by cutting the bread into several pieces with a spare kunai. Itachi made a sound that, oddly enough, almost sounded like he was laughing. Elva looked at him, surprised. Once she knew for sure that he had actually laughed, she felt herself beginning to smile. At the last second, however, she grabbed the stiff, brown paper that she had thrown to the ground minutes before, balling it up in her hand and throwing it at Itachi. "I hate you!" she yelled, a semi-joking tone in her voice. "Stop laughing – it's not funny!"

Itachi was silent for a moment, then shook his head again, rolling his eyes. "Get your kunai, Elva. We're leaving in a minute," he announced, standing after putting everything back into his traveling pack. Kisame stood up as well, watching Elva with an amused look on his face. Elva remained sitting, glaring up at Itachi, but a sudden, more serious look from him made her quickly stand, hurrying back toward the trees to pick up all of the scattered kunai and shuriken and stuffing them into her weapon bag.

* * *

"Itachi-san," Kisame suddenly said, stopping in his tracks.

_No!_ Elva thought to herself. _No, please don't let us be stopping now. Please, please! It just started to rain – I just heard thunder! Can't we get to shelter first? They can't perform a jutsu when they're wet, can they? …wow, Elva, that was a really stupid thought. Of course they can…Kisame's practically part shark, after all. …wait, is he part shark? Hmm…I don't know. Maybe one day I should ask him, but would that seem – Focus, Elva!_

"Elva, stop walking," Itachi commanded, also stopping. Kisame had set down his things at the base of a rock, where they would be shielded from the elements and would, hopefully, not get wet. Itachi followed suit, and also followed Kisame to his location on top of the rocks, where he was sitting, in full view of not only the landscape around them and anyone that might be there, but also the rain.

"…you two are insane," Elva muttered to herself, careful not to say it too loud. She settled down by their things, leaning against the rock and looking up at the sky. From where she was, it wasn't likely she would get wet, but she was still concerned for Itachi and Kisame. "Don't get colds," she called up randomly, then stopped, making a face.

"_Don't get colds." How stupid does that sound? I'm not their mother…and…I couldn't be, anyway, because for one, they're a lot older than I am, and B, they aren't brothers. …wait. Did I just use "one" and then "B?" Oh, Kami, what's wrong with me? I can't even remember my numbers, let alone my alphabet, apparently! I'm so stupid! I—_

"Don't worry. We won't," Kisame called back down, a chuckle apparent in his voice.

"Don't disturb us anymore, Elva," Itachi told her, his voice distant in the rain, as he didn't try to raise it at all. "The meeting is about to begin."

"Are you hungry?"

Itachi opened one of his eyes, looking at Elva before sighing. "No, Elva, I'm fine," he said calmly, in a monotone voice. She nodded, and then turned to Kisame.

"Kisame, are you—?"

"No, but it's very kind of you to ask me, Elva," Kisame replied, in a more lighthearted tone, both of his eyes clothes. Elva smiled softly before heading back down the rock to where the food was.

* * *

_Kami, it's almost been two days. I've been so insanely bored. Can't they move while doing the jutsu? Or is really that taxing on their chakra? …man, I've had nothing to do lately. I've thrown away all of the kiwi in the bags, and I've almost finished all of the bread. There's nothing around us, except a ton of grass, a ton of trees, and this one little rabbit that has one of its ears lopsided – Oh, my gosh! It's a rabbit!_

Elva immediately jumped to her feet, but stopped herself. "Don't scare it," she scolded herself, then made a face, hitting herself in the forehead lightly. "Don't talk to yourself," she reprimanded again, although at the same time knowing she was still doing so.

Still wanting to get a closer look at the rabbit, Elva started toward it, but suddenly stopped, rushing back to look through the food packages. After several minutes had passed, she decided on some celery she had found near the bottom of the bags, and started off toward the rabbit again, much slower this time.

When she was maybe about ten or twelve feet away from the small animal, she bent down on her knees, holding out the celery as far as her arms would allow. She forced her arm to remain as rigid as a pole, although it was quickly becoming hard to do. She told herself to stay still, or else the rabbit might get scared and run away.

Five minutes of this passed before the rabbit moved a step toward her. Elva felt a smile tug at her lips, but stopped herself short. _Don't scare it, _she reminded herself. The rabbit moved a step closer, and then took several steps at once, all of a sudden so close that, if Elva wanted to, she could probably touch it. But she kept her arms steady, remaining frozen in place.

The rabbit leaned forward, off of its front feet, and sniffed the celery. It settled back on the ground, paused a moment, and then hopped closer a bit, now underneath the stick of celery. Elva exhaled slightly, her heart pounding in her chest. _This is so cool!_ she shouted in her mind, not believing what was happening. _This is the best thing that's happened in…erm…well, two days. Not my life, but…yeah. This is awesome!_

It got up again on its hind legs, opening its mouth slightly. It was just about to bite into the celery when it froze, ears straight up in the air. Elva's face paled. _What did I do? What did I do?! Don't rabbits like celery? Should I have looked harder for a carrot? What's wrong?_

There was a sharp whizzing sound in the air, and suddenly an explosive tag attached to a kunai hit the ground beside the rabbit. Elva gasped, dropping the celery and jumping to her feet, watching the flames start to burn down toward the end of the tag. She rushed back, holding her arms in front of her face in a poor attempt to protect herself.

There was a second, louder sound now, that resembled a small explosion. She remained in the same position, her hands protecting her face, when she lowered them, eyes wide. The grass was burnt around where the kunai had been, but the rabbit wasn't anywhere in sight. This calmed Elva down somewhat, realizing it must have gotten away.

But simply the idea of the explosive tag had set Elva on edge. She hurried back to the rock, and jumped up to where Itachi and Kisame were. "I think there might be—"

Itachi cut her off. "We dealt with it, Elva," he said, his tone still annoyingly calm.

Elva frowned, asking, "…you mean…wait, how did you know something just happened? It was too quiet for you to hear way over here." _…or maybe they did hear it. I mean, it wasn't really quiet…just not as loud as, say, that one explosive tag from the other day. But still, that's kind of creepy._

There was a pause, but then Itachi said, "…Kisame sensed a new presence in the perimeter of the area. We took care of it. What are _you_ talking about?"

"Well, there was this rabbit, and I was trying to feed it celery, and then this kunai with an explosive tag landed by it, and I ran away, and so did the rabbit, and I was thinking that maybe—" For a second time, Itachi cut her off. Elva scowled, starting to get pissed by all of the interruptions.

"A rabbit?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Kisame, you thought a rabbit could interrupt the extraction? …how, might I ask?" He seemed to be mocking Kisame, and Kisame obviously didn't like it.

"Excuse me, but you said earlier to report 'any presence in the area.' And I did. And you dealt with it," he said heatedly. "It's not my fault you were so damn paranoid."

When Itachi looked like he was going to say something, Elva quickly cut in. "Dad, Kisame, please don't fight. Didn't you guys both say it was better to be quiet? To conserve energy? …don't be hypocrites…please," she said, realizing after she had finished that, as she had gone on, her tone had gotten weaker. _Wow, that probably sounded stupid,_ she realized, sighing.

Kisame chuckled, shaking his head. "Hypocrites, Elva? Oh, no. We shouldn't be contradicting ourselves. You're right. Thank you, Elva, for being such a big help." Elva frowned, almost hurt by the sarcastic edge to Kisame's voice.

"Don't let him bother you," Itachi told her after another brief pause, almost whispering. "He gets like this whenever he's forced to do something like this."

Elva nodded, although Itachi's eyes were closed. _Of course. …this is all getting weird. Dad's almost being…nicer to me…and at the same time, Kisame's acting all…I don't know, off. It's just really weird._

**Author's Note:**

_**Kazuhi-chan**_Yeah…that is such an Itachi line, that "We'll take care of it." Poor Masakazu-sama…but he was mean…ish. I don't know. I've completely forgotten about him already xD Yeah I'm a horrible author…I forget my own OC's. Aw, thanks for the compliment on Elva-Itachi's relationship. …oh, is that interesting. You asked if it was possible for Kameko to be Elva's mom…hmm. Well, I'll give you a hint – remember how I said that Kameko kind of looked old? …and that Itachi is in his late twenties…? Yeah…

_**Valbino**_I know, I know you didn't say Elva was Sue. I was just stating that as a fact. I read so many fanfics where Itachi's kids are all "star ninjas – the top shinobi/kunoichi in their class – who mastered the Sharingan at the age of three and surpasses their own father in skill," and I'm all…bleh. SUE ALERT. …yes, Chi-san. When I was thinking of weird quirks for Masakazu-sama to have, I was randomly talking to one of my friends on AIM, and for some reason, something they said made me think "Same-kun." Don't ask me what they said – I lost the conversation. But anyway, I thought Same-kun went with Kisame after that, and Chi-san came later for Itachi. …yep. Yeah, Masakazu-sama likes Kisame better.

**I'm not sick anymore…which is good. But I still haven't gotten my voice back completely, so I was in this concert today, and it was really funny. We sing and dance to "You Can't Stop the Beat" as one of our songs, and during the chorus, I'm belting the alto part, as our conductor prefers the altos do…but today, I was like "EVER SINCE WE FIRST SAW THE LIGHT, A MAN AND WO—squeeeeeeeeeeeak!" …and I was mortified. I spent the rest of the song forcing myself not to laugh.**

**Omigosh! Aren't you all happy I'm finally back on track in the actual **_**Naruto**_** plotline?! …or…no? ...wait...I never actually WAS on track, was I...? **

**PLEASE review! **

**(…not sure what about…what would YOU like to see in this next chappie?)**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	9. Tensions Rise

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto**_**. It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Elva's pack slipped off her shoulders, tumbling down her arms and onto the ground. _We're back,_ she realized in relief, looking up at the giant, red archway that signaled the main entrance into Akatsuki. She felt her mouth twitching into a smile, imagining herself on a bed within the next five minutes, asleep and relaxed. Then she stopped, frowning slightly. _…what happened? _she then found herself asking, her gaze having shifted from the arch downward to where the boulder should have been.

It was gone.

In its place lay countless chunks of rock, the pieces covering up so much of the river that someone who had never been there before could have mistaken it for a make-shift bridge. Elva continued staring at it for a couple more minutes, before turning around to face Kisame and Itachi, who had likewise stopped in their tracks. "What happened?" she asked quietly, voicing her previous thoughts. When neither answered, she persisted, stepping forward. "Please, do either of you know what's—"

Itachi held up a hand to stop her, abruptly walking past her at a brisk pace to the edge of the river before stopping again. Kisame remained in place, but Elva hurried to pick up her traveling pack and approach her father. For a second time, Itachi held up a hand again to stop her. "Stand still," he said in a hushed tone, Elva almost jumping from the suddenness of his movements. "I'll be right back."

With that, he started across the river, easily making his way through the maze of rocks that littered his path. When he reached the archway, he entered underneath it into the hideout and disappeared out of sight. At this, Elva sighed, rolling her eyes, and dropped her bag again, this time running down to the water's edge. Behind her, she heard Kisame sigh, but in a different way than Elva had. _He sounds annoyed,_ she noted, wincing slightly but not doing anything to take back her actions.

"You'll regret this, Elva," Kisame said, still not having moved from his place. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight to one foot, almost acting as if he was waiting for Elva to come back or agree with him.

You could say she agreed with him. She glanced over her shoulder, a forced smile on her face. "That's the fun in it," she said, also forcing herself to laugh as she said so. _Okay, now you're pushing it. You should stop,_ she reminded herself, and she did, turning back around and surveying the river now. After choosing a certain path to walk through, she set on over to the rocks.

Her first few steps went by easily, but then she found herself in a bit of a bad situation. She couldn't turn around without falling into the water or hitting a rock, and she had just realized that there was a wide gap between where she stood and the next rock. Taking a deep breath, she pressed on, stepping out as far as she could until she made contact with the other rock. Once she thought she had a good grip on the other rock, she jumped off with her other foot off of the first rock, and almost immediately regretted it.

She swayed suddenly, losing her balance. She resisted the urge to shout out at first, but as she felt herself falling back lost it and screamed, hitting the water suddenly. Normally the water was lower and wouldn't have been too much trouble if you fell in it, but with the rocks scattered everywhere and blocking it more, it had gotten higher. It didn't help that she fell on her back, leaving her laying – or more so, floating – in the water, grimacing in pain. As she sat up again, rubbing the back of her head tenderly, what hurt more was probably that Kisame seemed to care less, still standing over on the other side of the river, and not that she had actually fallen in.

She stood up slowly, regretting even trying to cross the river in the first place. Instead of going back over to Kisame and risking being a laughing-stock, she instead continued into the hideout. Her first step inside, and she could already hear water from her hair and her clothes dripping down onto the floor. She sighed, knowing that no matter what she did now, Itachi was going to be angry with her.

She started off down one of the hallways, listening to see if any other members of Akatsuki were staying at the hideout. She thought she heard something once, but passed the room, having forgotten whose it was. Finally, she reached the two-room apartment Itachi and Kisame shared, opening it and stepping in. Itachi sat at the table, rubbing his temples. When Elva shut the door, he immediately looked up, jerking slightly.

His eyes narrowed suddenly, taking in Elva's appearance. "What did you do?" he demanded softly, beginning to rise from the table.

Elva backed away a step, wincing again. "I tried to follow you in. I'm sorry – I didn't want to be forced to stay alone with Kisame!" she exclaimed, not caring how that had come out. "I wanted to see if I could help, if anything was wrong," she then added, in a weaker tone. "…and when I was crossing the river, I fell down."

Itachi was quiet for a moment, watching Elva heavily, before sighing and averting his gaze, staring pointedly at the wall to the side of his daughter now. "…all right," he said tightly, for a moment making Elva think he might apologize or something odd like that. "Get changed. A meeting is starting soon, and you should come." Before Elva could say anything else, Itachi sat back down at the table, almost in a finalizing way, ending the conversation.

Elva went into her room – or, technically, Kisame's as it literally was – and started going through her bag for clothes. She hadn't realized it, but she was still wearing the light blue nightgown she had worn in Masakazu's home. _Home-mansion-thing,_ she corrected herself, remembering the size of his house. _That thing was huge._

Eventually, she decided on a pair of dark blue jeans, putting them on under the nightgown before picking out a top, which ended up being a horribly oversized white T-shirt. She pulled off her nightgown before pulling the shirt over her head again. She looked down at herself, making a face. _This shirt is way too big._ She looked down at it for a moment longer, then rummaged through her bag again, an idea popping into her head. She extracted one of the hair-ties she normally used to hold her own hair up, using that to attempt to make the T-shirt smaller. It didn't work much, but it worked enough.

She also took out several other things, including a couple more hair things to put up her hair later, a hairbrush, and socks. She pulled on the socks, and then took her other things and went out into the open area of the apartment. She dropped the brush and hair-ties on the table, sitting down across from her father. She took the brush, then, and started brushing her hair. Or, at least, she attempted to.

She grimaced in pain as she hit a knot. Of course, because the child she was, she tried to pull the brush through it, although she only succeeded in causing herself more pain. Itachi looked up, smirking slightly. "Elva, come here," he said. Elva stood, but Itachi then added, "Bring the brush."

Elva grabbed the brush from where she had dropped it on the table at standing up, walking over to her father. She stood there for a moment, until Itachi got up from his chair and motioned for her to sit, taking the brush from her. When she had, he went behind her, crouching down and starting to brush through her hair for her. Elva braced herself in case he hit a knot, but to her surprise, he didn't. He just kept on brushing her hair.

Just then, however, Kisame walked in. He stopped abruptly at seeing Itachi and Elva, looking confused. Elva tried to smile, but Itachi didn't even acknowledge that Kisame had entered the room. He just kept on brushing as the seconds ticked by. Once Elva's hair was about halfway done, Itachi stated suddenly, "Elva, you need to cut your hair."

This announcement took Elva by surprise, and she didn't understand it at first. She had to stop for a moment, thinking for a heavy moment, before slowly reaching to her shoulder, feeling her hair. As suddenly as she had done so, she grabbed the whole mass of it and held it in her hands, jumping up from her seat and whirling around to face her father. "But, Dad – I've been growing it out for years!" she exclaimed, petrified by the idea.

Itachi had a sort of 'I'll-never-understand-women' look on his face, and he sighed, looking tired. "Elva, that's the point. It's too long now. Sure, you wear it up all the time, but still. There's no use keeping it so long," he reasoned slowly, as if Elva normally took this long to comprehend things. She stood there in silence for what seemed like forever, until Kisame finally began to fidget uncomfortably behind them.

"We have to go," he said, hands on his hips. "We're going to be late for the meeting. We probably already are, you know," he added after a moment, directing everything to Itachi.

"We have time," Itachi said, still watching Elva. She had finally seemed to make up her mind, staring at her hair. After a heavy moment, she sighed, shoulders slumping downward, and walked back to the chair, sitting down in it and shutting her eyes tightly. Itachi took out a kunai from his weapon bag, brushing Elva's hair to the back of the chair. He cut her hair quickly, before she had a chance to react, cutting across smoothly.

Elva gasped as she felt her hair fall back to rest on her shoulders – or, more so, above her shoulders. Her eyes widened, her hand going to her shoulder again like she had just done. She let out another, quiet gasp when she didn't touch her hair at first, having to raise her hand to reach it. For a moment, Itachi thought she might break down in tears, but then she asked, "Dad, could you finish brushing it?"

A smile twitched at Itachi's lips, and he set the kunai down, instead now picking up the brush. He ran it through Elva's hair; Elva was shocked by how easily it slid through her now-short hair. After about a minute, Itachi spoke up again. "Elva, could you hand me two of your hair-ties?" Once Elva had, Itachi continued brushing her hair, except this time he parted her hair, pulling half into one small ponytail, and the other half into another, forming two pigtails.

By now, Kisame had given up on trying to rush them, instead settling into a chair across from them. As Elva attempted to look at her pigtails without the use of a mirror, in the end ending up shaking her head rapidly in order to do so, he looked at her, smirking noticeably. When she finally stopped, she met his gaze, and she immediately flushed, looking at the floor.

"Your hair looks fine, Elva," Itachi said, starting for the door. "But we really do need to go to the meeting now. We're late enough." With that, he opened the door and disappeared into the hallway.

Kisame also stood, but waited for Elva. "I told you we'd be late," he said quietly as Elva walked past him. "But of course you didn't listen." He followed Elva quickly out the door, rushing past her to catch up with Itachi, who had gone down the hall at a brisk pace.

* * *

The Akatsuki meeting room was a sight to see. Although Hidan was there yelling swears out at random like he normally might – he and Kakuzu had already set out after their Jinchuuriki, apparently – Deidara was out of his place in the circle, standing feet away from Pein, chest heaving. Someone who had no clue what was going on, like Itachi, Elva, and Kisame, might have thought he was angry. But of course he wasn't.

"Stop saying that!" Deidara shouted, his voice husky with tears. "Stop saying that about Sasori no Danna! He…un...he…didn't…Tobi will _never_ be my partner. I'll kill him if you pair him up with me. I will, Pein-sama – I'd rather die than work with someone other than Danna!" he continued yelling, nearing hysterics.

He continued on like this for several more minutes, the occasional mumble finding its way into his voice as it always did, until he eventually ran out of things to say, shaking uncontrollably by now. Pein remained silent for a brief moment after he stopped, then stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "And I thought shinobi weren't supposed to show their emotions," he said quietly, "or…at least…I know Sasori would have said that." As Deidara tensed up noticeably, Pein passed him and made his way to Itachi and Kisame, ignoring Elva.

"Sasori was found dead in the hideout two days ago," he explained simply, stopping in front of the two Akatsuki members. "He was killed by a retired Suna nin and a Konoha kunoichi. Not very impressive, if you ask me," he added, raising his eyebrows.

"Shut up!" Deidara cried, whirling around to glare at Pein, although he didn't move from where he stood over on the other side of the circle. Pein ignored him, clearing his throat again.

"Hidan and Kakuzu are, as you've probably noticed, gone at the moment. They are going to retrieve their Jinchuuriki. To put the meeting so far in Layman's terms, we are all setting off in teams of two to search for one of two targets – either the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki or Sasuke," Pein explained, glancing between Kisame and Itachi. "You two are no exception. Any questions?"

Kisame shook his head silently, but Itachi nodded slightly. "Yes, sir. There was something I needed to attend to, concerning Sasuke. It could take some time, so I thought I should ask for your permission. Of course, if I were to run into Naruto first, I would naturally stop to handle him. But…if I were to find Sasuke first…"

"Understood," Pein said, inclining his head to Itachi. "And how did your mission go?"

Itachi and Kisame exchanged glances for a moment, before Itachi spoke up again: "There were problems, although they were all easily overcome." Just to embarrass Elva, Kisame tossed a glance in her direction, getting Pein's attention. He watched Elva for a moment, eyebrows raised, before nodding curtly, obviously satisfied.

"And Masakazu? What of him?" the Akatsuki leader than asked, folding his hands behind his back. Beside Itachi, Elva's eyes narrowed slightly. _Okay, I'm not sure if I used to hate him. But now I really hate him. Now he's suddenly all "oh, yeah, I knew she'd be troublesome." I helped some…well…not really…but I could have if I tried._

"Disposed of," Kisame answered this time. "That was one of the problems. He blackmailed Akatsuki, and we all know we can't afford a problem like that," he added after a moment of thought.

Pein smirked slightly, nodding again. "I see. How…interesting," he said quietly, looking down at Elva before addressing Itachi again. "You have such a…charming daughter. You must be _proud_ how she's always thinking of the conclusions her actions will lead her to." His voice dripped with sarcasm, his smirk becoming more prominent.

This time, Itachi frowned slightly. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean," he responded slowly, raising an eyebrow. He bowed stiffly to Pein, gesturing for Elva to do the same. "Thank you for explaining everything to us, but I think I speak for all three of us when I say we need our rest," he murmured politely, opening the door behind them. Kisame was the first to leave, walking past Itachi without another word to Pein.

Itachi stared at Elva for a heavy moment, waiting for her to say something. Instead, Elva continued standing there, looking up at Pein, her eyes still narrowed. Itachi looked like he might say something to get Elva going, but Pein said something first. He reached out to ruffle Elva's hair, smirking. "You've got an interesting little _brat_, Itachi, don't you?" he said.

Elva ducked out of his reach before he touched her head, backing away from him. "Don't," she said sharply, before turning on her heel and storming out of the room.

_I really hate it when people do that,_ she thought to herself.

**Author's Note:**

_**Valbino**_Yes, belting the alto part – and yes, alto's are AWESOME. You deserve to be glomped, you know that? Both you and SydneyIsQueen…because you both have reviewed my story more than twice. It just makes me so happy to see people reviewing my story…quite obviously . Ah. You wanted to have Itachi and Elva have bonding time? How was that one part with the hair for you? Blah xD …don't kill me, I know it's random.

**For once, I'm actually not sure what to talk about. …oh, right, I remember now! I'm going to A-Cen in May, and one of the days I'm going to be Shikamaru (of course, BECAUSE HE'S JUST COOL LIKE THAT), and the other day I'm going to be Tohru from Fruits Basket. …although…I'll be doing both characters injustice…seeing as…Shikamaru's anorexic…and Tohru's just freakishly skinny. And I'm fat, so…blah. That'll just be unfortunate, eh? **

**Omigosh, if any of you have seen Naruto Abridged before, Lee and Canada is high-larious. He's all "Don't diss Canada, eh?!" …yeah…poor Sasuke. -gasp- NO. Stupid Sasuke. …actually…if anyone here is following Shippuuden manga…Itachi finally lost it. FINALLY. Fangirls have been waiting for that moment since he was introduced into the series. HE SMILED.**

**(…yeah, so it was that sort of I'm-a-creepy-stalker-who-can-rape-you-with-my-eyes-if-I-want-you smile…and he smiled at Sasuke with that 0.o …BUT STILL.)**

**PLEASE review!**

**Once again: What would YOU like to see in the next chapter?**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	10. Secrets Emerge

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto**_**. It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"_Have you gotten a little taller, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, looking at the boy facing him from across the room. Although his face was obscured by the darkness, making any of defining features disappear, the boy's eyes betrayed him. He glared with intense hatred at Itachi, his fists tightening at his sides._

_As we all know, the boy was Sasuke._

"_...you haven't changed at all," Sasuke muttered quickly, as if he couldn't keep the words in any longer. "You still have those heartless, cold eyes of yours."_

_There was a short pause, during which the two young men merely stared at one another in dead silence. Finally, Itachi asked, "Aren't you going to yell and run at me like last time?"_

_Sasuke started chuckling under his breath almost immediately after Itachi had finished his assumption, but instead of rounding on the other man, he turned swiftly on his heel and eyed the girl, gripping his katana in his hand._

_The odd thing was, the girl wasn't there._

_Sasuke stopped for a moment, then did a double take, then turned back to Itachi, attempting to look unfazed. Itachi was smirking softly, but didn't say anything, instead clearing his face of emotions once more and asking, "Well? Is there some point to this heartfelt reunion, or are you just going to stand there?"_

_Sasuke's grip on the katana tightened, his entire body tensing up. "Uchiha Itachi, I hope you're ready to die," he said coldly, eyes narrowing to two red slits in the darkness surrounding them._

When Elva had eventually forced herself to get out of bed the next morning after waking up, it had taken her everything she had to get herself away from the mirror adjacent to the closet and outside into the main area of their apartment. While she stood there, her eyes were wide open, gaping at the sight of her – which wasn't much to see – with short hair, simply hanging there. _I look so…different,_ she thought to herself, a frown tugging at her lips before she finally tore herself away from the mirror and to the closet.

This time, she got a pair of cargo shorts and pulled them on before randomly choosing a black tank top from a hanger and pulling that on, as well. After putting on a pair of socks and shoes, Elva exited the room, figuring her hair was short enough to not get too messy. She opened the door to the rest of the apartment, then suddenly froze, feeling a rush of cool air hit her. She hesitated, then returned to the closet quickly to grab a plain, dark blue sweater and heading back out.

No one was still in the apartment that she could see, so Elva went ahead out into the hallway and shut the door behind her, careful to memorize what the particular hallway she was standing in looked like. She remembered that, in the few times she had been in Akatsuki before, there were countless hallways inside the complex hideout, and the last thing she wanted to be was lost. After assuming she had a sufficient mental picture, she turned to start down the hallway.

After several minutes had passed, Elva decided to try her luck and pick a door. Thinking she was about to step into the kitchen, she opened the door without a worry. Konan looked up, sitting in the center of her bed, surrounded by hundreds of origami sculptures lying across the dark blanket. Elva froze, mortified, as she felt her cheeks flush bright red. She expected a scolding, and she instinctively tightened up.

"You can come in if you want to," Konan said quietly, abruptly looking back down to her bed to pick up yet another piece of paper and begin to fold it. The paper moved soundlessly between her hands, peaking Elva's interest immediately. She stepped in silently, shutting the door as quietly as she could.

"How do you do that?" she asked, a smile already forming on her lips. Konan motioned for her to come closer to the bed, and Elva was soon seated on the edge of it, staring intently as Konan began to fashion a paper flower, as lifelike and intricate as one found in the forest just outside of the Akatsuki hideout.

Konan seemed to smirk as she continued working, although it was hard to tell due to the masses of blue hair that fell across her face, concealing her features. "It's simple, really," she replied, her tone still soft and quiet. She fell silent again, as did Elva, until the flower had been completed. She gazed at it contentedly for a moment, then held it out to Elva. "Here."

Assuming it was a joke, Elva hesitated, frowning. When Konan remained in the same positive, hand outstretched, holding the paper flower, Elva quickly smiled, taking it. "Thanks," she said, before averting her gaze to the flower, amazed by how real it looked. "…thanks," she repeated after a moment, still looking down at the flower. Almost at the same moment, Konan took the flower from Elva abruptly, causing the girl to jump suddenly.

Elva thought that Konan was playing a joke on her – that giving her the flower had just been a joke all along, that she had just wanted to embarrass Elva. Still, Konan had never struck Elva as being rude or playing pranks on people like that, and she was surprised. Then, however, Konan reached over to Elva, brushing a lock of hair behind her right ear before sticking the flower behind it as well.

Realizing what she had done, the smile quickly returned to Elva's face, and she laughed to herself, scolding herself for having thought Konan would have done that. "Thanks," she repeated for a third time, then suddenly stopped, a thought coming to her. She looked at Konan, who was still watching her. "Wait. What time is it?"

Konan was silent for a moment, but then said, "Probably a little before noon. Why?" she then asked, a confused look briefly clouding her delicate features before disappearing once more.

Elva yelled at herself mentally, angry she had been so careless. _Damn! Why did I sleep so late? Dad's probably going to yell at me…and I don't even want to think about what Kisame will say._ But instead of voicing her concerns and getting Konan involved, Elva forced a smile onto her face, standing up. "No reason. I was just wondering…but I'll go now. My dad might be wondering where I am," she replied slowly, backing away toward the door. She flashed another big smile before hurrying out the door and back down the hallway the way she had come.

She sprinted all the way back to where she was sure was Itachi's, Kisame's, and her apartment when she was stopped by angry voices erupting from inside. For a moment she didn't think she was in the right place, but at recognizing Itachi's calm tone trying to calm down whoever the other speaker was, she stopped, frowning.

"Kisame, be quiet. You're making a scene," her father was saying. "If someone hears—"

"Oh, and we both know who _someone_ is," Kisame cut in, an angry tone still in his voice, although now he was talking in a slightly more hushed tone. "Please, do you really think you're going to be able to keep living a lie for much longer? She's going to find out."

"Unfortunately, Kisame, you're wrong," Itachi countered, still calm. "Unlike you, I try not to stay angry about things forever." There was a brief silence, before he slowly added, "And…I'm not…I don't think…no. For your information, I've gotten over it. You don't have to assume things like that."

_Why do I have this horrible feeling they're talking about me?_ Elva asked herself, cringing inwardly. She stood rooted in place for another moment, then went to open the door. Jumping in the air, she let out a small scream as the door abruptly opened, Itachi appearing in front of her.

Now, Itachi had never been one for emotion. That was one of the first things Elva had learned at meeting her father. For some reason, he would normally walk around with either a blank expression or a mind-numbingly-calm look, and that always confused Elva. But right now, Itachi's features were frozen into a mixture of shock and – if at all possible – the slightest hint of fear or regret. After several seconds had passed, he seemed to realize what he must look like, and at that moment relaxed his features, his face falling into his usual dull look.

Elva averted her gaze to the floor. _Well, that's a blunt way of proving my theory. I doubt if Deidara or Pein had opened the door that he would have responded that way. I feel a ton better now,_ she thought to herself, a sarcastic tone finding its way into her head. She felt her hands instinctively curl into tight fists at her sides, but just as suddenly as they had formed fists, she forced them to relax, instead looking up at her father.

"Did I do something wrong?" she found herself asking, her voice barely above a whisper. Itachi looked like he might say something, but then Kisame appeared behind him. Itachi visually tensed, and he immediately reached back to shut the door. Once it had shut with a soft bang, he remained silent for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked, stuffing his hands deep in his pockets. Without an answer from Elva, he started off down the hallway, but Elva was soon to follow, quickening her speed to match his. Within two minutes, they were outside, across the river, and starting off into the dense forest.

However worried she was about what she had heard, Elva couldn't help but feel more at ease just by being outside, surrounded by nature. It also seemed to calm Itachi some more, as well, but in a different way. Nature itself didn't seem to relax him; instead, it seemed like seeing Elva relax in turn calmed himself down.

Eventually, however, the silence that stretched between them while they went deeper into the forest proved unbearable. Both Elva and Itachi were beginning to feel more awkward, and it showed in their body language. Whereas Itachi was more subtle about his feelings, with only a sudden twitch of a finger or extra blink here and there, Elva was much more obvious, tucking her hair behind her ears repeatedly and pulling at the sleeves of her jacket, breathing heavily.

"Elva?" Itachi suddenly said, stopping. Elva flinched involuntarily, but looked at her father, also stopping. When she didn't say anything, he motioned to the ground. "You can…sit, if you'd like."

Elva remained standing, crossing her arms and looking away again. She stayed like this for less than a second, then smiled, looking up at Itachi again. "I'm fine, Dad. Were you going to say something?" she asked, trying to sound as cheerful as she could.

Itachi seemed slightly confused at why his daughter was so happy at the moment, but shrugged it off after a moment, clearing his throat. "Well…yes, Elva," he replied, then fell silent. "I…well, you have to understand." Elva frowned slightly, and Itachi quickly continued: "Elva, I know I'm not the best…father figure around. Even I can see that. Many people would probably bet their lives on the fact that you were born just because I needed a good fuck—" He stopped abruptly, wincing. "I'm sorry, Elva, I didn't mean to say that."

"…it's fine," Elva said after a moment, eyebrows raised. "You can keep going."

Obviously amused by Elva's reaction, Itachi let out a brief chuckle before sighing and clearing his throat yet again. "Well…your mother…I did…love her, or at least I thought I did at the time. Then hundreds of things started happening at the same times – we found out your mother was pregnant, Akatsuki started trying to recruit me, I killed my clan, and countless other impossible things. I was…stressed…to say the least." He paused, then glanced at Elva as if to make sure she was still there. "…what were you told happened to your mother…?" Itachi asked, frowning now.

Elva backed up several feet to lean against a tree, shrugging. "I don't know. I remember my grandmother saying something about her dying when I was really little, but…that's all." She scrunched up her face, like she was thinking. "…I'm pretty sure that was all, at least."

Itachi couldn't help but scoff, just stopping himself from rolling his eyes. "When you were really little? Yeah, Elva, when you were extremely little. She died when you were born," he blurted out, almost in an angry tone. The tone obviously had an effect on Elva, who seemed fairly taken aback by the sudden change in his attitude.

"…I'm sorry. I didn't know that," she said softly, almost sounding hurt.

"No, it's not your fault. It's…whoever told you – your grandmother, you said? – it's their fault," Itachi said quickly, regretting what he had previously said. "But…you see…that brings me to what Kisame and I were arguing about back in the Akatsuki hideout." He paused for a moment, noticing that Elva had suddenly tensed up slightly. "Elva…I don't mean this in a bad way…but you need to know something before I tell you. Before you ran into Kisame and me in Konoha two years ago, I thought you were dead."

Elva frowned, making a face. "Why?" she asked, cocking her head to the side to look at Itachi.

Ignoring the expression on Elva's face, Itachi shrugged, looking to the side. "I thought you died when your mother did, is all. But when I saw you, and found out who you were…I…_hated_ you," he finished quietly, knowing as he finished that he would regret it.

When he finally met Elva's gaze several long seconds later, she was still staring at him, although now her face was empty of any emotion. She blinked at Itachi several times, almost too quick to seem natural, and opened her mouth slightly. "Oh," she said, her voice nearly inaudible.

Before Itachi could say anything else, Elva stepped away from the tree, inclining her head stiffly to her father before turning and starting back out of the forest. Itachi sighed heavily, remaining in place for a few more moments speaking up. "Elva…" he called out, stepping forward toward her.

Elva stopped, also sighing, but in a much more exasperated and tired way than Itachi just had. She turned around, facing Itachi again. She blinked a couple more times, and by now it was obvious she wasn't just blinking because she had to. "Dad," she began, her tone revealing instantly that she was on the verge of tears, "why is it always that, whenever something is going right for once in your life, something happens that makes it screwed up again?"

Itachi took a step toward her again. "Elva," he repeated, more forcefully this time.

Elva stepped away from him, blinking rapidly again. "Dad, I really hope you're happy," she said softly, refusing to let herself start to cry. "I-I…I'm sorry, but…I hate you." When Itachi tried calming her down again, she cut him off. "Don't you understand, Dad?" she exclaimed, hands tightening back into fists. "I hate you. I _hate_ you!"

Before Itachi could respond any further, Elva turned on her heel and ran out of the forest.

**Author's Note:**

_**SydneyIsQueen**_Writing the bonding part was…fun. But for some reason, I've just always pictured Itachi as someone who would just…randomly…brush someone's hair. I mean, he wears his own hair in a ponytail…so, yeah. And Sasori died just…because. It's Kishimoto's fault. Ooh, but that's interesting. What would happen if Sasuke met Elva…? I honestly don't know…I might just try to add something like that in!

_**Sasori-Chibi**_Thanks! …but…erm…as you can tell, I didn't really update that horribly soon…omigosh, it's been almost a month since I've updated, hasn't it? …gah…I'm sorry. I've just had horrible-beyond-terrible writer's block.

_**Kazuhi-Chan**_It's fine! You don't have to review every chapter (although I love knowing people actually read my story!). Yes, Kameko is old…-er. Not terribly old, but at least a decade or so older than Itachi. But YES. I was re-reading the last chapter today before I started this chapter, and I was just like "0.o …Elva's hair must have been REALLY long." Now, you wonder why I'm saying that – since I'm the author – but I'm a…special person.

_**Valbino**_It's nice to know Itachi fangirls are reading this story…but, just for future reference, I like Itachi (more than Sasuke, mind you!), but I'm still working out the kinks in the plotline and…well, to put it bluntly, I can't assure you completely that Itachi will come out of this story unharmed. But I'm not promising anything or hinting at anything at the moment.

_**Bored-ism**_Oh, posh. Didn't you read in one of my responses above that I, too, was having some trouble coming up with something for this chapter? It took me…what, three weeks to get this chapter up? This whole time, I've been all "c'mon…get the chapter up…no one's getting any younger…" But, yeah, it's FINE, really. Don't feel bad or anything. And I'm DEFINITELY not a better writer than you. You say in your Author Notes that you apologize that the chapter is bad, and it's AWESOME. And yes, hinted SasoDei is what I intended. Thank you for noticing :)

**…whoa. I usually don't use up that much of my A/N responding to reviews. …it makes me…oddly…excited! I'm getting more reviewers! (You don't realize how full of glee I am right now, do you? …yes, I said "glee"…don't ask why.)**

**Anyways, um…yeah, PLEASE REVIEW. About anything. …really, if you want, I'd find it immensely amusing if you were to review about something as random as, say, HOW MUCH YOU HATE KIWIS. Because, really, we all know that kiwis just need to, like, be erased from the face of the Earth.**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	11. Pushed to the Limit

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto**_**. It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Elva couldn't stop running. Her feet continuously hit the ground – at the speed she was going, it was a wonder to her how she wasn't collapsing from pushing herself too much. Her muscles screamed in agony, but still she wouldn't stop. She couldn't. Everything she just experienced was repeating itself over and over in her mind, pushing her to her limit.

"_I thought you died when your mother did, is all. But when I saw you, and found out who you were…I…_hated_ you."_

Still, she forced her legs to move faster, if that was at all possible by now.

"_Dad…why is it always that, whenever something is going right for once in your life, something happens that makes it screwed up again?"_

"_Elva."_

Tears began to cloud her eyes again, obscuring the dense forest in front of her. She continued to run faster and faster, even though she couldn't see anything. She didn't care, as long as she got farther away from her father.

"_Don't you understand, Dad? …I hate you. I _hate_ you!"_

Elva's own words echoed through her head, shattering any barrier that she had been trying to keep up to prevent herself from crying. Her heart was beating quicker than she thought was possible as the tears started to fall, and at that moment she couldn't take it any longer. She fell to the ground, catching herself with her arms before she had completely collapsed. Her arms shook dangerously, about to give out, when she froze, her tears stopping abruptly.

Out of the corner of her eye as she had fell, she had seen something – a brief flurry of movement among the trees. She glanced over to the left, assuming it was nothing, when a shiver went up her spine, stopping her again. As quickly as this had happened, however, she jumped to her feet, taking out a kunai. "Go away," she said quietly, glaring at the Akatsuki member with all of the hatred she could muster.

Zetsu stared at her calmly, as if he hadn't heard her. He tilted his head to the side, a smirk barely noticeable on the dark half of his face. "Now, now, don't take out your little fight on me," he chided, his eyes glinting dangerously. "I can't do with any more _sauciness on your part. It might make me hungry._ And we both know your dear, old father would hate if something were to happen to you, wouldn't he?"

Elva shivered involuntarily, backing away from Zetsu repeatedly until there were twenty or so unnecessary feet in between them. "Please leave me alone," she pleaded in a small voice, continuing to keep the kunai at arm's length. She didn't mean to sound scared, and she wasn't even sure that was even how she sounded. She just honestly wanted to be left alone.

"Maybe I could pay a visit to Itachi-san soon…" Zetsu trailed off, seemingly unfazed. He glanced over in the direction where Elva had come before looking back at the girl, frowning. "That was quite a fight you two had. _He must think you really hate him. How depressing._"

Elva tightened noticeably, also frowning. "What, you were _stalking_ us?" she demanded, her voice louder than it was at first. Her arm began to shake slightly, and at that she hastened to put her kunai away, her arm falling limply at her side.

"On Pein's order, of course," Zetsu responded, now shifting his gaze upward to the trees overhead. "He wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Itachi-san did seem fairly anxious. _Pein-sama wanted to make sure he wasn't going to do anything…improper to you. After all, it's understandable that the men here in Akatsuki might be a little sex-deprived._"

Elva raised an eyebrow, involuntarily taking more steps away from Zetsu. _Okay, seriously, what kind of reputation does my dad have at Akatsuki, anyway? _she wondered to herself, remembering what her father had said earlier while talking to her in the forest.

"He's my father," she said tensely, backing up again. "Besides…he hates me," she finished.

Zetsu shrugged, muttering something to himself. Elva was about to come up with an excuse to leave and head back to the hideout when she stopped, looking behind Zetsu, where Itachi had stepped into view. She blinked several times, then abruptly turned on her heel and hurried away, within an instant resuming her fast pace again.

Behind her, she heard Zetsu realize Itachi was there. "Hello, Ita—" he began, but was cut off by a sudden sickening, crunching sound followed by a grunt and a loud thud on the ground. Elva flinched, cringing inwardly. This sudden movement made by herself caused her left foot to catch on a root that lay above the ground, sending her toward the ground again. She winced for a moment, then at hearing footsteps behind her jumped to her feet and, resisting the pain now coming from her left ankle, cleared the distance between herself and Akatsuki faster than she had thought possible.

She sprinted down the complex halls of Akatsuki, hardly caring if she was going in the right direction or not. Only once did she run into someone – Deidara, who didn't seem to care that Elva had bumped, or more ran, into him. She quickly offered her apologies, but when he didn't seem to care, she continued down the hall, this time at a slower pace, until she reached what she thought was her apartment.

Knocking on the door, she crossed her fingers, hoping this wasn't Konan's room again or, even worse, Pein's. To her relief, Kisame opened the door, but he instantly frowned, staring down at her. "Where's Itachi?" he demanded, eyes narrowing.

Elva felt herself flinch yet again, but held her ground. "He's still outside," she said quietly, attempting to push past Kisame. When he blocked her, she took a step back, frowning. "Please let me in," she said, trying her hardest not to look at the ground when Kisame just stared back at her. "I said _please_," she tried again, her hands curling into fists. She didn't know why she was suddenly losing her temper, but she felt that she was about to find out.

Kisame smirked, raising an eyebrow at her teasingly. "What are you going to do?" he asked, still not moving. "Yell at me? Threaten me? Start to _cry_?"

The next words that Elva said most definitely were not what Kisame was expecting to hear. "I hate you," Elva said, glaring at Kisame suddenly.

Kisame blanked, his cocky expression gone. He seemed to be dumb-founded, as if the prospect of Elva ever saying those words had escaped him. But he was still right about two of the three things he had predicted Elva to do.

"I _hate_ you," she repeated more forcefully, eyes already beginning to well up with tears. "If you hadn't started everything, none of this would have happened." When Kisame looked confused she continued. "It's all your fault. Why did you have to be so rude that day coming back to Akatsuki? Why did you say something that had provoked him to be _kind_ and _reassuring_ for once? Why did you have to provoke him to stand up for me in front of Pein? Why couldn't you have just continued to pretend to like me, and not force him to actually be a _father_ for once?"

Before Kisame could respond, Elva continued to talk, this time her voice breaking more. "Why did you have to fight with him and try to force him to tell me that he hated me? Do you really want me to be that miserable? Are you really that horrible a person that you would do something like that? If you're surprised somehow that I'm angry and upset at you, and that I said I hated you, then you're really messed up. I honestly hate you, Kisame, and I hate myself for admitting that. But you made him tell me how he felt. You made _me_ tell him _I_ hated him!" she exclaimed, getting angrier and angrier as she talked, although only forcing herself closer and closer to the edge.

Suddenly, Kisame cut her off from saying anything else, enveloping her in one of the big bear hugs that she had always been afraid of due to lack of oxygen. This time, however, it seemed to stop her. Any hint of tears that had been in her voice or in her eyes disappeared. Her heart returned to its normal rate of beating. It gave her a sense of clarity, which would have been welcome in almost any other scenario. Except for this one. She closed her eyes, sighing deeply. "Kisame, don't," she said suddenly, her tone angry and cold.

She could feel the tall man flinch, surprised by her reaction, but stopped and let her go. Elva sighed again before opening her eyes and looking at Kisame for a long time, eyes narrowed. "…you disgust me," she said after a long pause, making a beeline around him toward her room. His voice stopped her one more time, just as she had opened the door.

"You're limping," he observed dryly, causing her to pause for a moment before ignoring him and shutting the door loudly. She made a point of not limping as she took her first few steps into her room, then cried out suddenly when her left ankle screamed in pain. She fell onto the bed, wincing and sitting up afterward.

Biting her bottom lip, she carefully slid off her left shoe and sock, gasping in pain as each caused a fresh throb of pain. Her ankle was swollen. _Damn it!_ she cursed angrily. In frustration, she sighed again and threw her shoe against the wall, not caring how loud it was. Then, in a rush of sudden emotions, she fell back onto the bed, hugging a pillow to her chest as she slowly but surely cried herself to sleep.

* * *

"She twisted her ankle," Itachi announced quietly, coming out of Elva's room and shutting the door silently before returning to the table. Kisame looked up from his meal, having brought back food from the kitchen in case Elva woke up.

"Did you see it happen or something?" he asked, his mouth full of food.

"No," Itachi admitted, falling into a seat and resting his head in his hands. "It must have happened when she was heading back here. She probably tripped on something or fell from a rock while crossing the river. I don't know." He sighed, shaking his head. "…she won't like it, but she'll have to stay in bed for awhile, depending on how serious it is. Either that, or she wears a brace for a couple of weeks."

Kisame frowned. "…how did you find all of this out without my hearing her shouting for you to get out or something?" he asked, perking an eyebrow.

"She was asleep. She must be exhausted…she ran all the way back, from what I could tell," Itachi responded, shrugging. "…she…didn't want to be anywhere near me." After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat and stood up. "In any case, if she doesn't wear a brace, she'll still have to bandage it, even if she's just going to rest in bed. Do you know if anyone would have extra cloth or bandages?" he asked, heading for the door.

"Nope, sorry," Kisame replied cheerfully, shaking his head and returning to his meal. Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly, but he just scoffed, disappearing out the door and into the long hallway.

* * *

Elva shifted uncomfortably, feeling a sudden pressure on her ankle. She involuntarily shivered, unable to think of what it was. She shivered again however, and again after that. It wasn't for a few more seconds that her brain had registered the fact that whatever it was that was on her ankle was cold, at which point she abruptly sat up, still shivering.

Itachi stopped, facing the door in silence. He seemed to tense when Elva forward on the bed, taking the ice off of her ankle and setting it aside, but then Elva spoke up. "…is my ankle broken?" she asked, in a way that was more to herself than to anyone else.

Itachi turned around, his face expressionless when he faced her. "No, but it's sprained," he said calmly, staring straight at her ankle. "You need to wrap it in those strips of cloth I brought you—" He took a moment to gesture to them, beside her, before continuing, "—and whenever you're resting, put ice on it…and elevate it. If you don't want to have to stay in bed for a few days," he added after a pause, "you'll have to wear a brace to protect your ankle."

Elva blinked at him, slightly confused, then shrugged. "That's fine," she said, now averting her gaze to the strips of cloth, picking them up and pulling them tight, almost as if doubting that they could sufficiently protect her ankle. Then she looked up again. "I really appreciate your trying to take back what you said by being all fatherly right now, sir," she said quietly.

Even though Elva had said it in a kind way, Itachi still appeared hurt. "…I'm not trying to take it back, and I'm not trying to be fatherly. I… You misunderstood me, Elva," he said slowly, carefully choosing his words. "I said that I 'hated' you. As in the past tense. I know it's wrong that I ever admitted it, but…still, Elva, you have to know me at least a little by now. I never get close to people easily."

"You never let _them_ get close to you, you mean," the girl responded calmly, beginning to attempt to wrap her ankle in one of the pieces of cloth. She avoided his gaze, although she knew it was on her.

"…maybe I deserved that," Itachi murmured to himself, then spoke up. "…both, Elva. It's not one of the other. It's more complicated than that. It's how I was brought—"

Elva cut him off, finishing wrapping up her ankle. "How you were brought up?" she asked, frowning. "Oh. Well, maybe I could understand that. Maybe…" She trailed off, then glanced up at Itachi, raising her eyebrows. "Maybe if you had ignored whatever way the Akatsuki was trying to contact you and recruit you…maybe if you hadn't left Mom…maybe if you hadn't killed your family, I could've understood. Maybe if I had been given the chance to have a normal life, with a mom and a dad living with me and taking care of me, I could understand. Maybe if I had been given the chance to meet my grandparents I could've known about how you were brought up. But you can't really use that excuse, sir. I hope you realize that."

This response had taken Itachi by surprise, but he couldn't just say he had deserved it again, especially because he didn't think he did. "What did you say about your mother?" he asked quietly, eyes narrowing slowly.

Ignoring this small change, Elva shrugged. "You left her. It's just something I put together. The doctors at the Konoha hospital are good at what they do. I don't think someone could die just from having a baby," she explained. "But I do think you could have broken her heart or something."

She knew she shouldn't be pushing it. Elva knew how her father tended to get more protective and withdrawn when the topic of her mother was involved. Still, she felt she had to push him. She had one reason for doing what she was doing: _It's now or never._

"Are you _trying_ to make me angry?" Itachi demanded softly, his tone much more threatening than it had been moments before.

Every part of Elva's body pleaded with her to stop and apologize for what she had already said, but she just smirked and shrugged. Before she could begin to say something else, Itachi had yanked her to her feet, his left hand taking hold of the front of her shirt and lifting her to eye level while his right hand swiftly pulled a kunai and pressed it to her neck, breathing heavily.

His next words scared Elva, making her immediately regret everything she had said.

"Because it's _really_ working."

**Author's Note:**

_**SydneyIsQueen**_NO, Itachi's not an idiot (or if he is, at least call him a HOT idiot!). Everything that happens is my fault and partly Masashi Kishimoto's fault (makes sense, doesn't it?). So really, if you want to call someone an idiot, that more would be me…although…now I'm just putting myself down…so…never mind! Oh, yeah, Konan's AWESOME…so thanks!

_**Sasori-Chibi**_I'm glad you were happy to see this new chapter, even if it wasn't the…erm…happiest of chapters. This may just be one of my faster reviews, so…yeah! I just didn't want to forget any of my ideas, so sorry if it seems just a bit rushed.

_**Highturo-Kun112**_Yeah, I know what you mean by "a little cute." Before I even started coming up with ideas for this story (wait, how long was it? …Bored-ism, you know, right? I dunno, almost a year ago now…?), I kind of just toyed around with ideas of a fanfiction for Elva, so some of those little things that are a little bit too cutesy are just reflections of my old, much-more-childish-and-immature ideas from yesteryear! But thanks!

**Okay, seriously, what is with me and writing chapters when I'm sick? Am I just hit by inspiration only when I'm sick or…something? Because it really bothers me how that happens…because…yeah. IT'S SICKENING. And there are auditions this week for the school's musical… (I'm fake-sobbing, if you haven't realized by my whining!) …yeah, no way am I going to get a good part. I'll just end up killing myself anyway, so it doesn't matter.**

**Anyways, please review! I love reviewers! Tell me what you'd like to see, what you thought of this chapter, or if you JUST COMPLETELY HATE ME. …because…I'm sure y'all do by now. Cheers!**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	12. Not Real

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto**_**. It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"_Because it's _really _working."_

Any courage or cockiness Elva had been feeling mere seconds ago were suddenly evaporated, leaving her defenseless. Itachi made no move to loosen his grip on her shirt, nor did he try to make her feel more comfortable by moving the kunai away from her neck an inch or so. Instead, just as Elva averted her eyes to the ground, he shook her violently, demanding, "Well? Aren't you going to say something? Don't you have some kind of smart-ass comment to say?"

Elva flinched, trying to steady her breathing. She could feel her heart nearly beating out of her chest, so quickly that she felt like she was drowning. She remained silent for what seemed to her like an eternity as the minutes ticked by, until she could finally feel her heart settling back to its normal beat, at which time she took a deep breath, getting ready to say something.

Just as she opened her mouth, however, Itachi removed the kunai from her throat. She should have been relieved, but she didn't even have time to react. Less than a second later, Itachi's fist jammed into her chest, sending her across the room until she connected with the wall. All of the air rushed out of her lungs, but as Itachi advanced, she took another breath. Just as Itachi was grabbing one of her arms and jerking her back to her feet, she shouted, "Kisam—!" but was cut short when Itachi pushed her against the wall, glaring at her.

"_Uchiha Itachi, I hope you're ready to die."_

"Do that again," he breathed quietly, holding his gaze with her, "and you're dead."

_Itachi nodded slightly. "Yes, sir. There was something I needed to attend to, concerning Sasuke. It could take some time, so I thought I should ask for your permission. Of course, if I were to run into Naruto first, I would naturally stop to handle him. But…if I were to find Sasuke first…"_

Too afraid to speak, Elva remained quiet, refraining from saying anything. She prayed that Kisame had at least heard her, even if he didn't hear enough to know she needed him. She prayed that this was all a dream, and that none of it had really happened. She prayed that, even if this was a dream, her father wasn't really thinking about killing her.

"_The shinobi who killed him was Uchiha Sasuke."_

Suddenly, both Elva and Itachi flinched as the door to the room opened abruptly.

"_The reason I've brought this up is simple enough: we all know what Sasuke's goal is. If he is able to defeat one of the Sannin..." He chuckled. "There's no telling what else he can do."_

"Kakuzu and Hidan are…" Kisame began to speak, but stopped when he saw Itachi and Elva, a confused look springing to his face. "…dead," he finished quietly, eyes narrowing slightly. "…uh, Itachi, what are you doing?" he asked, now beginning to sound worried. When Itachi failed to say something, Kisame chuckled nervously. "This doesn't have to do anything with what Zetsu's going on about, is it?" he continued, taking a step toward them.

Itachi scowled, loosening his grip on Elva. "What do you mean, Hidan and Kakuzu are dead?" he demanded, obviously wanting to change the subject.

"_Your eyes belong to me now," Itachi panted, leaning over, his hands on his knees. He began to hold his side, a pained look on his face, but stopped after another moment. "I'll take them slowly…I want to savor this."_

_Just as he had spoken, however, he grimaced in pain and doubled over, coughing violently. Shuddering, he covered his mouth, trying to hide the fact that he was coughing up blood. Then, about thirty feet away or so, someone else came into view._

Elva shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Up until now, she had been able to ignore her mind persistently throwing these sudden thoughts, or whatever they were, at her. She thought it was strange that they all had to do with Sasuke in some way, someone she had never even met, but now she was starting to have a bad feeling about all of it. _I've never had a dream where he's talking about eyes,_ she thought to herself, looking up at Itachi, who was now in a conversation with Kisame.

"That's impossible, though, right, Itachi-san?" Kisame asked, quickly returning to his usual comfort level with Itachi. "Sure, Kakuzu could be killed, but Hidan? Pein says some kid cut him up and buried him. A _kid_. I can't believe this. First Sasori gets pummeled by a granny and a medical nin, and now…Akatsuki's really gotten worse, hasn't it?"

Itachi shrugged, glancing back at Elva for a moment, apparently deciding to act as if not much had changed between them, before saying, "Perhaps. But I wouldn't spend too much time thinking about their deaths. I won't miss them, anyway…" He rubbed his left eye suddenly, making a face as he did so. "I hated Hidan, especially…" he trailed off as Kisame chuckled, rolling his eyes.

_Sasuke worked fast, grabbing a kunai out of his weapon bag and attaching an explosive tag quickly, thrusting it toward Itachi. Just when he thought it wouldn't reach him, the tag exploded, and dust and debris suddenly surrounded Itachi. Somehow, thought, Itachi was still there when everything cleared away, patiently standing there as if nothing had happened._

_He started advancing toward Sasuke, causing the teenager to swear to himself. Thinking quickly, he threw hundreds more kunais and explosive tags, only to have them explode early, stopped by something or some jutsu before it could reach Itachi. "Fuck you!" Sasuke yelled, losing his temper again._

Once again, Elva had to work to make herself stop focusing on whatever odd thing her mind was throwing at her now. _It's not real,_ she reminded herself, forcing herself to look at Itachi and Kisame. _See? My dad's _here_…not wherever he's supposedly at._

_Suddenly, Sasuke was against a wall. Itachi stood in front of him, blocking any means of escape. He brought up a hand and, despite how much pain he must have been in, he smiled. Just as it looked like he was going to move in and succeed in getting Sasuke's eyes, he instead moved them to his forehead, simply poking him. _

Elva closed her eyes, breathing deeply. Every time, it seemed to get harder and harder to make herself come back to reality. _It can't be real. It's _not _real. He's here. Sasuke's not. It's not possible, _she repeated to herself over and over, until someone cleared their throat. She looked up. Both Itachi and Kisame looked at her, Itachi staring blankly at her, Kisame with a look of concern and confusion.

"What's not possible?" Itachi asked slowly, eyes narrowing. Elva could tell he was still angry, but she wasn't paying attention to that.

"…I was saying that out loud?" she asked, scolding herself as Kisame nodded, frowning. She knew she had to say something. It was time she told someone about how she dreamt about Sasuke all the time, no matter how creepy and twisted that may have sounded. She had to find a way to tell them without having them think she was insane. That would be hard.

"Well…" She stopped for a moment, before continued slowly, picking her words carefully. "Not that it's any of my business…but sir?" she asked, looking at Itachi for permission to continue. When he made no move to stop her, she kept going. "What do you need to…attend to…with Sasuke?"

Elva had almost expected to be scolded, but Itachi's emotion didn't seem to change all that much. He glanced at Kisame for a split second before responding. "…why do you need to know?" he asked levelly, eyes narrowing again.

"I think he wants to kill you," Elva said, expecting Itachi to be seriously shocked or hurt by being reminded of this knowledge.

"…I've known that for years," Itachi replied, raising an eyebrow as he began to turn to face Elva fully, as he had been facing Kisame. "But why would you say that? Even you knew that, Elva…at least, I thought you did."

Of course she had already known that – she had found out weeks ago, when she had joined Kisame and her father on their way to Kumogakure. Still, that wasn't what she had meant. "Never mind," she said quickly, shaking head and frowning. "I meant…I think he's _going_ to kill you, sir…like, soon."

Now Itachi seemed to be interested, if only in the slightest bit. "Why would you say that?" he repeated, taking a step closer to her.

_Do I really have to tell him? It's going to seem like I can see into the future if I do…or he'll think I'm a big joke and will never take me seriously again._ Elva quickly ran through the pros and cons through her head, trying to think of all possible consequences. _Although…what if I'm right? What if Sasuke's coming here right now…or what if Dad's going to meet him soon? What if he _does_ die? Shouldn't I warn him?_

Elva was about to blurt everything out to him, about her dreams, her conclusions, and everything, when another memory suddenly hit her—

"_But when I saw you, and found out who you were…I…_hated_ you."_

—and she stopped abruptly. She scoffed to herself, her anger toward Itachi suddenly returning, and she rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. "Never mind," she muttered, avoiding her father's gaze. "You would think it was stupid. It's not important, either way."

Itachi almost looked like he was going to ask her again, but Kisame stopped him, motioning to the door. "Come on, Itachi-san," he said quietly, trying not to let Elva hear. "Konan was going to put together a short service for Sasori, Hidan, and Kakuzu. We should go." He glanced at Elva, then back at Itachi, wincing. "At least for a while," he added, lowering his voice even more.

Itachi stood still for a moment in silence, until he shrugged, pushing past Kisame to head into the hallway. Before Kisame followed him, though, he looked at Elva, wincing again. "Elva…" he began, waiting until she grudgingly looked up at him. "You know…I'm really sorry. I'm sorry that you hate me, but I never pretended to like you. I _do_ like you, Elva. I enjoy being around you. You're a wonderful person. Still…you're so hard-headed sometimes."

"You've already gotten involved enough," Elva snapped, despite wanting to apologize to Kisame. "Can't you just mind your own business for once?"

Kisame started for the door, but stopped again. He was laughing to himself when he turned to Elva again, but it was much different from the times he had jokingly been poking fun at either Itachi or Elva. It was a cold, cruel laugh, something Elva hadn't heard from Kisame before, even when he had seemed annoyed at her.

"You know, Elva," he said again, smiling in spite of his tone. "I can't believe you. Your father wanted you to know the truth. Do you realize that he said he only _used_ to hate you? That he doesn't now?" He waited for Elva to nod, and when she had he continued. "Seriously. Then you overreact and tell him you hate him all of a sudden. Do you know how that must have made him feel? Pretty shitty, I'd guess."

He laughed harshly, musing to himself. "Do you know how much your father is risking? He's almost blind, Elva. Did you even know that? He's doing something he has to, but he's risking his _life_ while doing so. You might never see him again. And the last thing he may have heard from you was that you hated him…? I'm sorry, but you must be a pretty bitchy daughter to do that, Elva." With that, he turned and finished his way out of the room, shutting the door hard behind him.

_Just as it looked like he was going to move in and succeed in getting Sasuke's eyes, he instead moved them to his forehead, simply poking him. Then, further fueling Sasuke's surprise, his arm fell, leaving a trail of blood down Sasuke's cheek. Itachi held out an arm to stop himself from losing his balance, yet still he sank to his knees, until finally collapsing on the ground._

_His breathing slowly grew more and more laborious until finally his chest went down in an exhaling breath for the last time, leaving his cold and rigid body on the ground as his heart stopped beating._

Kisame had left Elva close to tears to start with, but with that last thing thrust at her she suddenly lost it, falling down the side of the wall. She pulled her knees close to her chest and hugged them, sobbing uncontrollably. She had just watched her father die, and she had seen it from a front row seat. She could have told herself that it wasn't possible, that her father would never die, that he was too strong.

Yet she had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach that what she had just witnessed was going to reenact itself at its first available opportunity.

"Daddy…" she sobbed quietly, the tears showing no sign of stopping anytime soon. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Itachi knocked quietly on the door to Elva's room, waiting a good minute before opening the door. He looked straight to the bed, expecting to see her there. When he didn't, he did a double take before looking around the room. He spotted her suddenly, sitting by the wall, fast asleep.

A smile twitching at his lips, he went over to her, brushing a lock of black hair out of her face. Suddenly overtaken by a strong sense of fatherly feelings, he picked her up gently and went to lay her down in her bed. Once she was in, he moved quickly but carefully, not wanting to wake her up. He pulled the thick, gray comforter up to her chin and untied her shoes, setting them down by the bed.

Hesitating, he almost went to the door, then sat down next to Elva, smiling to himself now. "I love you so much, Elva," he said quietly, going to run a hand over her hair when she jerked awake, sitting up in the bed. It took her a moment to realize where she was, at which time she looked at Itachi.

She looked at him for a moment, biting her lip, before launching off into a fast speech. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm really, really sorry! I'm a horrible daughter. I don't hate you – I couldn't _ever_ hate you. I just misunderstood you, that's all! But I don't want you to go. I'll miss you! Please…please, Dad, please don't go on the mission. Please stay back. You have to! Please stay. I'm really sorry. I promise I'll be good if you do. I'll be the best daughter ever if you just stay behind and—"

Itachi laughed, smiling suddenly. His amusement at Elva's speech made her stop suddenly. "What's all this about me staying behind?" he asked softly, still laughing. "I can't, Elva. I have a duty to Akatsuki, and if Pein says I have to go, I do. What, are you worried about me? I promise I'll be careful, okay?"

"But, Dad," Elva persisted. "You really just can't go. Please! Pein-sama won't care just once, will he? I mean, he hates me. He probably thinks I'll wreck Akatsuki if I stay behind. So why don't you stay, too? Please? You can help me train again. You've been helping me. I can throw things…_almost_ in a straight line now! I'm getting better. But you have to stay."

"Elva…" Itachi began in an exasperated tone. "I promise, I'm going to be coming back."

Elva opened her mouth to beg again, but stopped, biting her lip again. "…do you promise?" she asked, eyes narrowing slightly. "You'll come back. Do you promise that? Really? That you'll come back home safely?"

It took a moment for Elva to realize that she had referred to Akatsuki as her home. It had only been a month or two ago that she had been made to leave Konoha with her father and Kisame. She thought she'd never get use to Akatsuki when she had first come, but so soon, she considered it her home.

Amused again now, Itachi smiled softly, tucking a piece of hair behind Elva's ears. "I promise," he told her. "Nothing's going to happen. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. No matter what happens, I _will_ come back to Akatsuki. I can promise you that."

"But safely," Elva pressed, determined to make him promise more specifically. "You have to come back and be _healthy_, Dad. Please. Promise." _Just come back alive, at least,_ she finished in her mind.

Itachi's smile faltered for a moment, but then he stood up. "It's late. Stop worrying. You need your sleep," he said gently, heading out the door before Elva could stop him again.

**Author's Note:**

_**Valbino **_Yes…interesting… I dunno if it's "angst" or not…I can't really classify anything to save my life, but I guess that'd make sense! Yeah, that…uh…line was really random. I don't know why I started that whole little thing with Itachi…but, I mean, everyone knows he's one of the sexiest Naruto characters, so why not?

_**Sasori-Chibi**_Well, I doubt I'd ever have the guts to kill off Elva, to be completely honest. I'm sure I could do it…just not…_well_. I always find it weird killing off characters…it makes me feel bad. And sorry for not updating for a while.

_**Joseph33759 **_I resent that. I am most certainly not an idiot…well, yes I am, but that's beside the point. No, I must disagree with you once again. I lack any needed talent to write, sadly, but thank you for trying. And, really, don't apologize. Only, like, a sixth of the people who have favorited or alerted this story have ever replied, so it's not that big a deal that you just did so on the eleventh chapter.

**Bored-ism! Did you catch that reference to your story? I just felt like saying that, since I was already planning on announcing their death in this chapter, so…yeah.**

**This new set up for Fanfiction (I'm not sure if my comp's just screwed up, or if Fanfiction re-did their site entirely) is really stupid. I had to go through all of my chapters and add in the little barrier-like things to stop a "scene" and go on to the next. I first realized this when I was re-reading the last chapter, where it goes from Kisame talking to suddenly Elva waking up, and I was just like "0.o No way on Earth I put those together." And then I realized what had happened, and I was all "Rawr. That's just not nice."**

…**on a different note, I really hate the phrase "slowly but surely." I've used it at least twice in this fanfic…it annoys the hell out of me. It's such a…cliché, I dunno. I hate it, yet I always end up using it. It sounds so cheesy!**

**Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW! I always want to know what you all think of this…torture-some story. Thanks!**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	13. Mango Kiwi Peach Cream Pie

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto**_**. It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

Elva heard her father leave later that night. She heard Kisame asking if Itachi had already said good-bye to his daughter; Itachi said he had. It hadn't been a real good-bye though, and Elva was smart enough to realize. He had said "good-night," and that was pretty much it. She had wanted to rush out after them and beg to come with, but she didn't think it was a good idea. After all, if her father had been telling the truth, everyone else from Akatsuki would be with them, and if they were, Pein certainly wouldn't like her coming with them.

Elva slept fitfully that night, drifting between sleep and wakefulness. One thing that shocked her about the times when she was asleep, though, was that she wasn't having any more nightmares or dreams with her father involved. This comforted her, but in a way it set her on edge, at the same time. She had gotten used to the dreams, no matter how disturbing they were. After all, she hadn't any idea what Sasuke had looked like before she had started having the dreams, but after, she wasn't so sure. Part of her felt like she already knew him.

Thinking of this, the moment she woke up she went to the mirror in her room, studying her features intensely.

_She walked into the bathroom across the hall, running a brush through her long, black hair once before pulling it all into a high ponytail. She stopped to look at herself in the mirror, and instantly felt a frown tugging at her lips._

_It wasn't that Elva was vain or anything. In fact, she hated how she looked. It wasn't that she was ugly, nor was she beautiful, or anything close to it. She was ordinary, and that even wasn't what she hated so much about herself. She was perfectly fine with her hair; it could get unmanageable and tangled sometimes, but there was nothing horrible about it. She had bangs that, for the most part, she liked, unless they became too long. It was her eyes that she hated._

_They were violet. Not a shade that could be mistaken for being blue in a different light. These were a bright and very distinct violet – a definite purple. It made Elva stand out, even in the diversity of looks at the academy, which was one thing she never wanted to do. It made her feel uncomfortable and unbelievably self-conscious. She just really hated them; there was no other word for it._

Elva stared carefully at her reflection, trying to compare them somehow to her father's. For one, she was definitely tanner than Itachi. She had always considered herself a little pale when looking at herself versus the other children at the academy. She used to feel like she was meant to stand out, in many ways – one was that she always felt like while the other kids tanned, she burned when she was outside for only an hour. Still, she was noticeably tanner than her father, so she wasn't alike in that way.

Her nose and face shape didn't seem to match her father's, either, so she skipped over those, ignoring them. Her mouth looked like it just might be similar to Itachi's, but too quickly did Elva look up. She found herself staring into her eyes. Her bright violet eyes. The eyes that she hated more than anything.

"What am I doing?" she found herself demanding aloud in the heavy silence. "I can't believe I'm actually wasting time looking at myself. It's so…stupid. So…" Still, once again, she stopped as she found her gaze once again attracted to her eyes in the mirror.

Her mouth was left open, as if she was about to say something, but no words came out. Her eyes widened instinctively, but almost immediately, they narrowed, and she forced herself to grab for the doorknob and pull. Just as she tore her gaze away from the mirror, a rush of cold air burst in, clearing away Elva's thoughts.

It took her a moment to acclimate herself before her mind started working again, at which point she reached into her closet and picked out the first sweatshirt she saw. It was huge on her – probably an old one of Kisame's – but it would have to do. After all, no one would see her in it anyway, and Elva didn't care what she looked like, either way. _Why was it so cold?_ was the first thought that sprang into her whirring mind. _What was I thinking about before?_ was the second, although it was a close call to determine which really finished first, the two had collided in her mind so rapidly.

Pushing the latter out of her head for a second, Elva focused on the current problem. "Is the entrance open or something?" she asked aloud, although immediately she cringed, scolding herself. _Idiot. No one's here. Great job, schizo. _

Still cold, she forced herself to hurry up, trying to maneuver her way through the halls without getting lost. Upon reaching the entrance, Elva stopped, shivering in the cold breeze. "No way," she muttered, pulling her arms inside of the sweatshirt to conserve more heat, glaring up at the sky where the clouds were turning a dark, ominous shade of gray. "It's May. No way can it be this cold. It's not fair."

She was going to turn and head back into the hideout again and go to the kitchen to make breakfast, but just as she began to do so she jerked to a halt, growing rigid. _Did I just hear something…?_ she asked herself, shivering again. This time, though, she wasn't sure if it was the cold or her being afraid that had made her do so.

"Hello?" she asked quietly, her voice breaking suddenly. She cleared her throat, cringing as she did so, and pulling the sweatshirt even closer to her body. "Hello?" she repeated, glancing over her shoulder toward the forest. "Zetsu?" she asked, squinting her eyes when she thought she saw someone move among the trees. Elva was about to call out again when a squirrel jumped out from behind a tree.

Elva jumped, screaming suddenly, but stopped when she saw what the stranger had been. She sighed, scolding herself mentally. _Great job, Elva. You're not a schizo. You just talk to animals. That's _so _normal._

Scoffing, she forced herself to toss a glare at the squirrel before officially heading into the hideout again. Once again, she was completely guessing her way through the halls toward the kitchen, but once again, she was right. _I guess I'm getting better,_ she thought to herself, almost proud of herself for a moment before her stomach growling focused her again.

She was about to go for the refrigerator when she saw a red and white cookbook lying on the counter. Pausing, it took only a second's hesitation for her to shrug and walk to it, opening the cover and browsing its contents. All of a sudden, the words _Mango Kiwi Peach Cream Pie_ stuck out at her. For a moment, she grimaced, then thought for a moment.

_Shrugging, she brought it to her mouth and took a bite, chewing it in silence. It took her a moment to realize that Itachi was staring at her, an almost expectant look on her face. When she had swallowed, she made a face, raising an eyebrow. "Do you need something?" she asked._

_Itachi's mouth twitched upward in a tight smirk. "I knew it," he stated quietly, mostly to himself._

"…_you knew…what?" Elva asked, confused._ What is he talking about? It's fruit. I like fruit. …except kiwis, but I've always hated them. And it tasted good, so— _She froze, her eyes growing wide. She slowly brought the fruit up to eye level with a trembling hand, looking at it closely. The inside was bright green._

_She screamed, throwing it as far as she could. "What's the matter with you?!" she demanded, glaring at Itachi. "Are you trying to kill me? That's a kiwi! I should've known you would have tried to do something mean!"_

She flipped absent-mindedly to the page where the recipe for the kiwi pie was apparently on, but stopped suddenly. Stuck in between the pages of a page entitled "_Mango Kiwi Peach Cream Pie_" and "_Shepherd Pie a la Mode_" lay a plain, manila folder. Frowning slightly, Elva picked it up and opened it, taking out two slips of paper.

One of the papers was labeled with a name: _Jairo Sahiro Umeko._

Recognizing her surname immediately, Elva skimmed the sheet. There were random things recorded about the person – he had weighed roughly six pounds at birth, and was two months premature. He had brown eyes. His godfather was Sahiro Kyou, and his godmother was a woman named Konan. Just Konan. Elva leaned forward, frowning. _Akatsuki's Konan?_ she wondered, then shrugged and continued on:

On the line where the parents' names should have been filled out, only one name was written down: _Umeko Meri._

Elva froze. She felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Just as soon as the shock of the name had worn off, she dropped the first paper on the counter and grabbed for the other, looking immediately for the name. Just as she had thought, it was her own birth certificate and medical record, as had been the one for Jairo. And just like Jairo's under the "Parent(s)" line, one name was there. _Umeko Meri._

Picking up the first sheet again, she looked first at her own date of birth for a confirmation – the 12th of June – and then looked over at Jairo's. June 12th. The name stared up at her, almost mocking her. As the reality began to settle in, Elva dropped both sheets of paper, acting like they carried a disease or something ridiculous like that. She felt dizzy. She needed to sit down. Stumbling into the dining hall next door from the kitchen, Elva fell into a chair just as her knees buckled beneath her.

She didn't say anything for what seemed like forever. She didn't think anything. She felt like she had stopped functioning, like she was dead. Like Jairo was, as it would seem. Finally, she felt warmth seep back into her limbs, and she let out a shuddering breath, blinking hard. She expected herself to start crying and whining about how she had never met her twin brother, but instead one thought ran through her mind: _Who in Kami's name is Sahiro Kyou?_

Unable to stop herself, Elva got to her feet slowly and made her way back into the kitchen. The papers still lay on the floor, glaring at her in a way, mocking her still. She picked up one of them, not knowing which was which now, and looking under the "Guardian(s)" heading. Under "Godmother," it said _Umeko Hitomi. _Under "Godfather," it read _Uchiha Sasuke._

Elva stopped, then frowned, reading back over the two names. "Sasuke?" she repeated quietly, then looked up at the name on the birth certificate. It was hers, Elva Umeko's. Picking up Jairo's, Elva could see that this Sahiro person was his godfather, and Konan was his godmother. _Why would Mom have given us different guardians?_ She paused. _And why is the man who wants to kill Dad my godfather?_

She didn't have time to try to answer either of these. Suddenly, she felt cold metal pressed against her throat, her mind registering a second later that the edge pressing against her skin was sharp, already close to drawing blood. She winced, closing her eyes and clenching her teeth, trying not to let her fear show.

Secretly, Elva begged for this person to be Itachi. She wanted it to be her father, testing her, having come back from the mission safely. Only one thing was wrong. Itachi had left the last night. There was no way he could have already finished with his mission. Either way, wouldn't the rest of Akatsuki be back, too, since they all left together?

Slowly the feeling of the cold metal drifted away from Elva's throat, and she exhaled her long held breath. Smiling, relieved, she turned around, meeting the gaze of a pair of blood red Sharingan eyes. "Dad, for a second there, you…" She trailed off, eyes suddenly going wide.

It wasn't Itachi.

**Author's Note:**

_**Sabaku no Baka (SNB)**_ Yes, poor Deidara. He does miss his danna. Terribly so. And, yeah, I know I rock! …but…uh…not that I meant that in a cocky "oh-I'm-so-flippin'-sweet-at-writing" thing…I meant that in a cocky "I-pwn-you" kind of way…if you get my meaning. And YES, you should write a SasoDei oneshot! And thanks SO much for the help with this chapter!

_**Sasori-Chibi**_ Sorry for taking so long…I know! How could stupid Kishimoto be so…bleh?! I hated it when I was reading the chapter and I was all "…WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT DID HE JUST DO TO ITACHI? EXCUSE ME?!" It's like, I was sad when Jiraiya (insert spoiler here), but I was just…angry when Itachi (insert second, more depressing and sad spoiler here).

**_Kazuhi-Chan _** I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you cry! Ha-ha, I know he didn't promise her he'd come back healthily…wait. "Come back healthily." Does that sound right? I dunno…but, yeah, that comes into play in this chapter, as you could tell…but, I mean, he _did come back_. At least he was honest about that! I never thought of it that way, but…Itachi is pretty pitiful. And really, it's fine if you don't review every chapter, honest! And congrats on your English, lawl : )

**Two notes…about my replies to my reviews:**

**1. Huh. I said sorry. A lot. I'm a chronic apologizer…great.**

**2. I said "lawl." I don't think I've ever used that as an alternative to "lol." I dunno. It just…looked right. Have you ever, like, typed something and it just doesn't look like it's spelled right? Well, that happened to me with "lol"…even though…that's not a word, anyway…**

**I'm pathetic.**

**And sorry (gah!) for the chapter being so short. Normally it's over 3,000 words long, but this one was only, like 2,500 words long. But, I mean, Elva was alone for most of the chapter…so I didn't have much to work with. Still, I hope you liked it!**

**Wow. I am so sorry (again!) about not updating for so long. I have had the most evil writer's block of all time…plus I was waiting to learn more about the "real" Itachi…which might change the end of my story just a little bit. For everyone who read in the manga what happens to Itachi, I'm sorry (agaaaaain!). Please don't hate me. This chapter was really just…awkward for me to write.**

**Omigosh. I don't know if I've made a shout-out to **_**Don't Believe in Romance**_** yet (by Bored-ism), but I have to make one now even if I have. That last chapter was so sad! Unfortunately, though, I don't handle sadness very well, so I kind of started laughing as I read it…which I think I might've mentioned in my review. Sorry (AGAIN!).**

**Anyways, please review! It's always appreciated! YA KNOW I LUV YA!**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	14. Speaking Out

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto**_**. It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

The silence that followed nearly made Elva go insane. She stared up at Sasuke, her face contorted in a mixture of horror and shock. Every muscle in her body was frozen, but her instincts, her mind, both told her one thing.

_Run._

She didn't know what was keeping her still standing there in the kitchen, eyes locked on Sasuke Uchiha. _The_ Uchiha Sasuke. The one who wanted to kill her father. She could have melted, but somehow she didn't. Elva tried desperately to move her feet, yet they remained nailed to the floor. Then, suddenly, as if there was a special alarm in her head that had just gone off, specifically for emergencies inside emergencies, she began to panic.

_This is genjutsu. He's going to kill me. That's exactly what he's going to do, _Elva thought to herself, coming to conclusions quickly. _ I'm never going to see my dad ever again. I want my dad._ As her panic began to overwhelm her, Elva felt tears springing to her eyes, and as she felt her muscles begin to relax and allow to move again, she said the only thing she could think of. "I want my daddy!" she shouted, falling to her knees. By now, she was bawling, unable to stop.

There was a brief awkward silence above Elva while she continued to cry, until Sasuke broke it, his tone bitter. "Are you kidding me, Karin?" he demanded quietly, still retaining his ever-calm air. He turned on his heel to glare at the red-haired teen behind him. "You have better be kidding me. _This_—" he gestured roughly at Elva, who had abruptly stopped crying, "—is your Uchiha Itachi?!"

"Well, I…" Karin's voice faded for a moment, then came back. This time, her tone was more joking, more confident, more flirtatious. "You can't really _blame_ me, Sasuke. I was distracted by your _standout-_good-looks."

Sasuke was a centimeter from her face in an instant, openly angry now. "Maybe," he hissed, "you're losing your touch. Maybe Snake doesn't have use for you anymore." To make his point, his fist once again closed on the hilt of his long katana, and even the now-flirtatious Karin tensed a bit at that.

"No," Karin insisted, shaking her head confidently and standing up straighter. "I was sure he was _here._ I could sense his chakra. I couldn't have been wrong." She paused, then when she saw Sasuke obviously wasn't convinced, she stepped around him, toward Elva. "There has to be some reasonable explanation, Sasuke-kun," she continued. "I mean—"

She stopped suddenly, eyes downcast, falling silent for several heavy moments before smirking and raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's interesting," she murmured, bending down to pick up a piece of paper. One of the birth certificates from the manilla folder. Elva's.

Elva watched her, a feeling of dread creeping up inside of her. Wiping away some of her tears, she forced both the feeling of dread and that of fear down for a moment, focusing on one thing – she had to get out of there, immediately. She got up on one knee quietly, then the other, remaining in a low crouching position. She glanced up to make sure she knew where the door out of the kitchen was, then stopped when she looked towards Sasuke.

It's not that Sasuke was watching her; his full attention was on Karin, ignoring Elva. But behind him were two more young men, looking maybe a little older than Sasuke, maybe not. One was taller and had orangey-red hair that was spiked up. He wore a blue or purple robe, or whatever it was supposed to be. The other was about Sasuke's height, and had long, straight white hair. He had a huge sword strapped to his back, which reminded Elva of Kisame's sword, Samehada. Actually, the two looked a lot alike, except this boy's was unwrapped.

_Focus,_ Elva reminded herself, tensing up her leg muscles to jump toward the door. Karin was holding up the paper triumphantly, waving it in the air.

"Sasuke, this is rather interesting," she said, the smirk growing on her face. "I think you'd like to see it." As Sasuke reached out for it, though, Elva made her run for it, getting up and running out of the door and down the hall as fast as she could.

* * *

Elva pushed open the first door she saw, hoping she had taken enough twists and turns in the numerous hallways in the hideout to lose anyone. If anyone had actually decided to follow her, anyway. She quickly locked the door – as if it would help against four trained shinobi – then turned around, catching her breath.

She was in Konan's room. Origami flowers and birds and other figures littered the floor, and random sheets of white paper lay in wait on the dark blanket covering the blue-haired woman's room. In the corner, behind the bed, was a closet. Glancing back at the door to the hallway, Elva hurried over to the closet and got in, shutting the door and sitting down.

_Okay. All I have to do now is stay here. I'll be fine. Sasuke probably won't realize he's my uncle, and he'll leave. _Elva continued on with these thoughts for a moment until she stopped. _Wait. What if he leaves and finds my dad and kills him? What if it'll be my fault? Should I try to stop him? No, that would be stupid. I'd get myself killed! Unless he wouldn't kill a kid, in which case—_

"Stop talking to yourself!" Elva shouted to herself, hitting herself in the head repeatedly. The closet door slid open.

Sasuke stared down at her, eyes narrowed. "Why am I your godfather?" he asked quietly. When Elva didn't respond, he raised his tone. "Answer me. How old are you?"

"Those were two different questions," Elva pointed out, frowning. "And how do you know that was even my birth certificate?"

"You were reading it," Sasuke offered, glancing behind him to where, no doubt, Karin and the others were. "Why would you be reading someone else's?" _That's a good answer, _Elva muttered to herself. "And you ran away when I had the chance to see it." He repeated his first question. "Why am I your godfather?"

Elva remained silent. Instead of letting Sasuke ask again, Karin stepped in, crouching down to be at Elva's level. "Hey," she said sweetly, an painfully fake smile plastered on her face. "Can you please answer some of this nice man's questions, honey?"

Elva instantly frowned. "I'm ten years old, you know," she snapped. "It's not like I don't understand him. I just don't want to answer him because I don't know the answer. How am I supposed to know why my mom chose him as my godfather?" She was lying through her teeth, but she didn't care. Anything that could keep her alive was suitable at the moment.

Karin resisted the urge to slap the younger girl, instead taking a hand and squeezing Elva's cheek too tightly. "Now, now, let's not be cheeky, brat," she said through clenched teeth. "You're going to answer us. If you do quietly, we _won't_ kill you."

Elva just had to challenge her. She smirked, asking, "Now, now, not to be _cheeky_, but how exactly am I supposed answer questions quietly? 'Quiet' implies silence. Answering implies talking, which implies noise, therefore rendering the phrase 'answer us quietly,' useless and utterly confusing."

Karin went silent for a moment, Elva's twisted logic leaving her speechless, before she snapped out of it and glared at Elva. "You little bi—" she began, before being cut off by Sasuke once again.

He almost seemed amused by Elva's response. "I can handle this." He looked down at Elva, obviously thinking, before announcing, "I want to speak with her alone."

"What?" Karin snapped before remembering who she was challenging. She quickly smiled sweetly, forcing a laugh. "Just kidding, Sasuke-kun. Shout if you need me!" she called over her shoulder as she shoved the two others out of the door before leaving herself.

Sasuke gestured toward Konan's bed, watching Elva carefully. "Do you want to sit?" he asked, his voice immediately taking on a casual, leisurely tone.

"No, thank you," Elva responded politely, but nevertheless stood and walked out of the closet, taking a few steps away from Sasuke – and closer to the door. After a moment's silence, she spoke up, "You wanted to talk to me?"

"On the certificate, it said your mother is Meri Umeko, yet she died almost eleven years ago, and you don't look nearly that old," he began, keeping up the calm tone of voice.

"For your information, I'm ten years old," Elva informed him, trying her hardest not to sound annoyed. "Just because I'm short doesn't mean I'm young. I'll be eleven in a few days, actually."

"Right, on the twelfth of June," Sasuke agreed, toying with the hilt of his katana. "Which will also be the eleventh anniversary of Meri's death. So I'll believe she was your mother. But I still wanted to ask you something." Elva remained silent, waiting for him to continue. "How long ago did Itachi leave here?"

Elva was caught off guard, letting her surprise at the question show. She had been expecting something like 'Why am I your godfather?' yet again or 'Do you know she died in childbirth?' just to rub it in her face. "U-Um…" she trailed off, still surprised. "How would I know that?" she asked after a moment. She attempted to sound confident, but doubted it came off how she planned.

"Please, I'm not an idiot," Sasuke responded. "This has to be where Akatsuki is based. Karin is never wrong. At first I overreacted by thinking she had been wrong; now I realize it was impossible. So just make this easier and tell me. When did he leave?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Elva asked, beginning to feel more protective of her father. "You'd just kill him, anyway. So he made a mistake and killed everyone in his family except for you. Sue him. Don't kill him. You realize that if you kill him because he killed other people, that you're basically proving to him that killing is all right, because you can do it?"

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temples. "I don't have time for some annoyance to be preaching to me about what's right and wrong. We need to set out soon. You can either tell us now and we might not kill you or you can come with us and we'll kill you when we kill Itachi."

"So you _will_ kill him!" Elva exclaimed, glaring at him. "You can't do that. Who knows? You might be ruining someone's life! What if he means something to someone? What if someone needs him?" she insisted, refusing to stop.

"Then they'll just have to suffer along with him," Sasuke responded, returning her glare. "He didn't stop to wonder if _I_ needed my family, or if he'd be ruining _my_ life. Why should I care about ruining anyone else's?"

"Because he's my dad!" Elva shouted, fists clenched. "And even if he doesn't realize it, he loves me, and I love him. _I_ need him. He's the only family I have left." She stopped for less than a second, then kept going.

"And don't you dare say that you're my family, too, because you won't be if you do this. No family has a right to hurt one another. Sure, what my dad did was wrong, but even he can't change anything. He might regret it, but he can never take back what he did. You should be thankful that he didn't kill you. You should be thankful he didn't drive himself mad from the guilt of it all and killed himself, even. But if you're going to go ahead and find him and kill him without caring that he's your older brother, then go ahead. But don't you dare say that you're my family, because you're not."

Elva's last sentence had been screamed, half shouted and half cried out. Sasuke stared at her in shock, obviously surprised that anyone that young would have the guts to say that to him, after all he'd been through. It took Elva a while to realize that the reason her cheeks were wet was because she was crying, but by then Sasuke had found his words again.

"Well, that was big of you," he said quietly, walking past her to the door. Pure hatred was etched into his features, although for the first time he had allowed his Sharingan to fade away and let down his guard. He stopped at the door, turning to look at her one last time. "It's nice that you're so lenient and so forgiving, it really is, but I don't think you were the one to walk into your house and find your parents killed."

The door slammed shut, and Elva sat down on the bed, taking deep breaths in an attempt to soothe herself and stop her crying. She picked up one of the origami flowers that had already been folded on the bedspread. Turning it around in her hand, her brow furrowed.

_Did I just make things better…or a lot, lot worse?_

**Author's Note:**

_**Valbino**_ You have no idea how much I laughed when I saw "Sauce-ghey!" That was hilarious! But, alas, you were right about Karin. That is how Sasuke got to Akatsuki…as you found out in this chapter…hehe…I'm just gonna stop talking now.

_**Sasori-Chibi**_ I am SO sorry I took so long to update! I meant to update a week ago, but then I came to visit my grandma and family in Florida, and I completely forgot everything I had planned for this chapter! I am soooooo sorry!

_**Tricia010 **_Haha, yes, hooray! ...not anymore, though. I wouldn't blame you if you saw this chapter update and ignored it. I would have, at least.

**Still the ever-chronic apologizer over here. Nothing changed in the past…what has it been? Month?? Once again, my most sincere apologies. I realize that this story isn't that good to begin with, and then once I have people that actually tolerate it and read every chapter, I take forever to update. Sorry again.**

**OMIGOSH. I CUT MY HAIR. ... Well, you guys could show more support, ya know. It was a big change. I had long hair once!! Now it's short, but on the bright side – my great-uncle Mike said he'd pay to have me dye my hair if I wanted! One of the perks of getting a crappy haircut and then visiting your loaded relatives in Florida! Haha. But he mainly just said it to annoy my mom.**

**But seriously. If I could, I would SO dye a strip of my hair blue. Bright blue. Well, I dunno. There are so many different shades of blue. Aquamarine, sky blue, baby blue, robin's egg blue, cerulean, ocean blue, etc., and then you get yourself into that whole "Does turquoise and teal count? How 'bout seaweed?"**

**AFTERBITE: **The Itch Eraser _**( **__**FAST RELIEF FROM INSECT BITES AND STINGS )**_

**Sorry for the randomness of that statement. MOVING ON.**

**Pleeeeease review! I know you all hate me, but I still hold a deep, burning passion for each and every one of you. In a none-creepy way, if at all possible. Although it's not.**

**Okay, so it's in a Jimmy-MacElroy's-stalker-what's-his-name kinda way. If you get my meaning. (Is his name Hector, btw??)**

**JUST REVIEW, GODDAMIT.**

**( Sorry, I'm hyper today! I ate bacon : 3 )**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	15. The Beginning of the End

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own **_**Naruto**_**. It was created by and belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

"_Elva is back home, no doubt," Itachi stated. It wasn't a question. He had just said it, like he knew that it was true. Elva gasped, immediately forgetting her anger at Kisame. She ran into the room, finding her father facing away from her and toward her bed, doing something she couldn't see._

_She flung her arms around his waist, laughing. "You're back!" she exclaimed, nearly beside herself with joy. "You're back – I can't believe you're back, sir!"_

_The silence that followed her outburst proved just how awkward what Elva had just done was. She backed away a couple of steps, hanging her head and attempting to look contrite. Itachi glanced over his shoulder, but before Elva could look up again, he had turned back around, only to continue whatever he had been doing earlier. "Don't do that again," he reprimanded sharply, causing Elva to involuntarily flinch._

* * *

"_Well, I...I..." Elva trailed off. "She died, didn't she?" He shrugged, more noticeably this time, still looking at her with a dead stare. "How did she die, then?"_

"_How do you think?" he asked bitterly, his tone suddenly angry. This sudden change made Elva literally jump for a moment, shaken. "Why do you want to know so badly?"_

"_I don't know, 'cause she's my mother?" Elva answered, sarcastic now. Just as Itachi was beginning to become angry, she too was beginning to get impatient. "Is that too much to ask? That I think I have a right to know?"_

"_No, you don't, Elva!" Itachi glared at her now. "You don't have _any_ right to even _ask_. You're the last person I'd talk about her to." She desperately wanted to ask him to stop looking at her like that, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything._

* * *

_She stood there for a moment, frowning ahead at the rows of trees. "I don't see it," she said quietly, eyes narrowing partially as she tried to see further into the forest. Behind her, Kisame stifled a laugh. She could hear Itachi sighing, and more rustling now, although now it wasn't the wind that was causing the sound._

_She turned around, but immediately froze, seeing Itachi slowly standing up, dusting off his Akatsuki robe. Beside him, the shuriken was embedded into the ground where he had just been standing. She quickly took a step toward him, blurting out, "I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't mean to! I told you we shouldn't have started with this! I-I promise I'll do better, and I'll practice a ton more once we—"_

"_It's all right," Itachi said calmly, having finished getting the dust off of his robe._

* * *

_Elva gasped as she felt her hair fall back to rest on her shoulders – or, more so, above her shoulders. Her eyes widened, her hand going to her shoulder again like she had just done. She let out another, quiet gasp when she didn't touch her hair at first, having to raise her hand to reach it. For a moment, Itachi thought she might break down in tears, but then she asked, "Dad, could you finish brushing it?"_

_A smile twitched at Itachi's lips, and he set the kunai down, instead now picking up the brush. He ran it through Elva's hair; Elva was shocked by how easily it slid through her now-short hair. After about a minute, Itachi spoke up again. "Elva, could you hand me two of your hair-ties?" Once Elva had, Itachi continued brushing her hair, except this time he parted her hair, pulling half into one small ponytail, and the other half into another, forming two pigtails._

* * *

_Ignoring the expression on Elva's face, Itachi shrugged, looking to the side. "I thought you died when your mother did, is all. But when I saw you, and found out who you were…I…hated you," he finished quietly, knowing as he finished that he would regret it._

_When he finally met Elva's gaze several long seconds later, she was still staring at him, although now her face was empty of any emotion. She blinked at Itachi several times, almost too quick to seem natural, and opened her mouth slightly. "Oh," she said, her voice nearly inaudible._

* * *

_Elva blinked at him, slightly confused, then shrugged. "That's fine," she said, now averting her gaze to the strips of cloth, picking them up and pulling them tight, almost as if doubting that they could sufficiently protect her ankle. Then she looked up again. "I really appreciate your trying to take back what you said by being all fatherly right now, sir," she said quietly._

_Even though Elva had said it in a kind way, Itachi still appeared hurt. "…I'm not trying to take it back, and I'm not trying to be fatherly. I… You misunderstood me, Elva," he said slowly, carefully choosing his words. "I said that I 'hated' you. As in the past tense. I know it's wrong that I ever admitted it, but…still, Elva, you have to know me at least a little by now. I never get close to people easily."_

"_You never let _them_ get close to you, you mean," the girl responded calmly, beginning to attempt to wrap her ankle in one of the pieces of cloth. She avoided his gaze, although she knew it was on her._

* * *

_A smile twitching at his lips, he went over to her, brushing a lock of black hair out of her face. Suddenly overtaken by a strong sense of fatherly feelings, he picked her up gently and went to lay her down in her bed. Once she was in, he moved quickly but carefully, not wanting to wake her up. He pulled the thick, gray comforter up to her chin and untied her shoes, setting them down by the bed._

_Hesitating, he almost went to the door, then sat down next to Elva, smiling to himself now. "I love you so much, Elva," he said quietly._

* * *

Boredom is a hard thing to deal with. Especially if you just happen to be an eleven-year-old girl on her birthday who has had no human contact for nearly a week. Elva sat on Itachi's bed, patiently jotting down the most random things that came to her mind inside of a journal that, as of late, had become her diary. Her security blanket, as it were.

Currently, she was working on a certain project. That project was simple – write down any and all memories of her father that stuck out in her mind, good and bad. And so she had been, ever so carefully in her neatest handwriting, for about an hour. She knew that she should be getting something to eat right about now, and had been planning on trying out that Mango Kiwi Peach Cream Pie recipe she had found in the cooking book a week before.

Finishing up her last strong memory – the one right before her father had finally left on his mission – Elva set down the journal and pen and hopping to her feet, careful not to mess up the neatly made bed Itachi had left. Elva hadn't started sleeping in Itachi's room – it hurt her to imagine her doing so, and made her think that if she did, he might not come back. Even after all she had said to Sasuke, she still had a small hope that her father would still come back. Still, it comforted her to spend the majority of her time alone in his room.

Elva had never realized this, and if she would have before she never would have told anyone – it would have seemed creepy – but Itachi smelled. Not in a bad way; his scent was just very recognizable. Everything in his room had the faint smell of evergreen trees. It made Elva wonder if he secretly snuck out every night and went walking through the woods, only to come back and get the smell everywhere in his room by accident. She liked the smell.

Elva grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open, stepping into the shared space in the small apartment. She looked up from her feet, and immediately stopped dead in her tracks, freezing. At first she thought she was hallucinating, but after a moment a smile threatened to light up her face. She forced it down, taking in the serious expression on Kisame's face, a feeling of dread dominating the original, cheerful one.

"What's wrong?" she asked instantly, her voice cracking halfway through the short phrase. She had tried to sound strong, like she could take what he had to throw at her. But the fact that Itachi wasn't with Kisame scared her more than she had ever been.

Kisame was silent for a while, taking in Elva's face, then pulled out a chair from the table next to him, "Maybe you should sit down." Elva felt herself frown instinctively as she tried to get past Kisame, ignoring him, focusing on the door leading to the hallway. Kisame sighed, pushing her back and taking her by the shoulders so she couldn't move again. "Elva, I know this may be hard to understand—"

"What's wrong?" Elva repeated, more forcefully this time. Any fear that she had felt a moment before was pushed aside for a brief moment, instead a feeling of frustration taking over Elva. She tried to push past him again, but soon gave up, knowing the effort was futile as long as the man put any small effort into stopping her. After a short pause, she hastily added, "I'll understand, Kisame. Honest. Please, I just want to know what's wrong."

Before Kisame had a chance to respond or suggest she sit down a second time, another voice came from out in the hallway. "Can I eat him now?" a familiar, cannibalistic tone asked, cutting through the silence in the room. Hearing this, Elva tensed up, and while Kisame stood there, partly in shock by Zetsu's outburst, she sprinted out of the door and into the hallway.

When she reached the hallway, she skidded to a halt, eyes wide. Her shoulders sagged ever so slowly, and her knees suddenly buckled, sending her falling to the hard floor. Yet no matter how much her level changed, her eyes stayed in the exact same place. Her breathing became faster and shallower, her heart about to fail from its rigorous beating.

In front of her stood Zetsu, but he wasn't paying any mind to her. He was staring down hungrily at something else – something he held in his arms. And that was precisely what Elva was staring at. In the half-man, half-plant's arms, the legendary Uchiha Itachi lay there, dead. Elva couldn't believe what she was seeing; never would she have thought anything could possibly have killed her father, even after her run-in with Sasuke.

In an attempt to prove to Kisame she could handle the situation, Elva looked up at Zetsu. "Who did this?" she asked, her voice husky with tears that were easy to hear. She could feel something that felt like a hard rock creeping farther up in her throat, and she knew she only had mere seconds before she burst into tears.

"It wasn't our fault, Elva," Kisame announced, suddenly appearing behind the young girl. "...it was...your uncle. Sasuke." As if to comfort her, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, squeezing her shoulder softly.

"He's not my uncle," Elva whispered, her voice barely audible. She drew in a deep, shaky breath, feeling her lungs ache with the sudden amount of air. She tried to control her new feeling of mixed hate, depression, and the desire to kill someone. It was a feeling she had never felt before, and fear quickly flew through her system, dissolving all of the emotions instantly, and leaving only one option left.

It was something Elva had tried hard not to do. Never had she intentionally said it to hurt someone else, even if she had done so mistakenly. But it was her last resort now. It was either this or something more drastic. "This is your fault," she choked out, the tears spilling over down her cheeks. "It has to be. He wouldn't have died if you hadn't been there to help him." She glared at Kisame hard, so harshly that he winced and almost looked away. "You wanted him to die. Didn't you? You just waited to the side for Sasuke to do the job for you, didn't you? You wanted him gone. You're a _coward_."

Elva hissed out the last word through her teeth, nothing but hatred in her eyes. Kisame flinched unwillingly, averting his eyes to the floor like he was ashamed. Elva pushed had to force the feeling of guilt down before continuing, this time changing her approach a little. "It's your fault that he died. I don't care if you really did want him dead. If you had been there, he'd still be here. I _hate_ you. More than you know. I wish you were _dead_, Kisame. I'm never going to talk to you again. I'd rather _die_," Elva growled, her hands clenching into tight fists at her sides.

Tears still flowing freely, Elva took her right fist and – not knowing exactly what she was doing – punched Kisame square in the jaw. Kisame fell backward in shock, a hand flying to his jaw. He winced slightly when he touched it, but then an odd thing happened that Elva hadn't anticipated. His hand fell, but not back to his side. He slapped Elva, his eyes blazing with anger all of a sudden.

Elva glared up at him, her hand rubbing her cheek softly, while Kisame glared back. Kisame would have been able to keep it up for however long Elva was ready to stay angry, but he wouldn't have the chance. Slowly, as Elva's hand slowed on her cheek, her eyes seemed to go dead, the life draining out of them. She was suddenly exhausted. She couldn't keep this up. It was impossible for her, and she realized it. But she didn't care. She couldn't.

_Nothing's going to help. He's dead._ Elva felt herself glance to the side involuntarily, where Zetsu was still holding Itachi. She grimaced, a jolt of pain running through her. All of a sudden, she broke out into uncontrollable sobs, unable to find any other way to express her grief.

Before she knew what was happening, she was enveloped in Kisame's big, warm arms. She knew that he regretted hitting her just as much as Elva suddenly regretted punching him. She suddenly became aware of a throbbing pain coming from her knuckles, and she winced, breathing in quickly.

Kisame misinterpreted this, rubbing her back gently. "It's okay," he said quietly, soothingly. "I miss him, too. It's going to be okay," he repeated.

Elva was silent for a heavy moment, before furrowing her brow and pulling away from Kisame. To her surprise, he let her back away, but only slightly. He was watching her intently, obviously expecting her to say something.

Elva didn't look at him. "My hand hurts," she mumbled. She paused for a moment, then looked up at Kisame, biting her lip. "I'm sorry," she said quietly after a moment. "It's not your fault. I shouldn't have said that."

But there was something else she refused to voice out loud, recalling her little meeting with Sasuke. She realized it suddenly, with dread, wondering why it had never come to her before. She realized it so fast that it nearly knocked the air out of her.

_It's _my_ fault he died._

**Author's Note:**

_**Valbino**_ Haha, lol. Very true. I've always wanted something like that to happen, so I was just like, "Eh, why not?" Karin was funny? Yay! I tried to make her funny. Lol, if only Suigetsu DID call Sasuke that.

_**Ichima **_ Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm off hiatus. Sadly, though, this is my last chapter, so I'm even completed now! Thanks for adding my story! And thanks, too, for confirming his name's Hector. Lol, he is sooo hilarious. "Jimmy, Jimmy! Did you get my blood? I sent you my blood!" Lol...

**Sorry about any confusion if any of you tried to review (like you, Valbino, sorry) this chapter and it said you couldn't. I actually posted one chapter twice, so this should've been the first thirteenth chapter, but because of the double, it was the fourteenth. I deleted the double chapter, and it was back to thirteen. Sorry.**

**Lol, remember how I said I cut my hair? And how I would want it blue? Well, my hair place didn't dye hair blue – something about it being a "fashion color?" – but I got a semi-bright, natural red in my hair. Just five thin strips – two on the left side, three on the right. I must admit, it looks pretty sweet. Haha.**

**Ew. I tried to make macaroni and cheese today with spaghetti. I tried to melt cheese by combining cheddar and mozzarella cheeses with milk and butter. The cheese. Wouldn't. Melt. Sounds frustrating, eh? YOU HAVE NO IDEA. I melted it for over five minutes until the milk exploded, then when I took it out, the cheese was just sticky...like clay. Only grosser. Yeah, as you can tell it tasted really bad, but I was hungry enough to force it down.**

**Please review! This is THE END OF THIS STORY. I want reviews! Please? I beg of y'all, just hit the teeny, tiny review button down in the bottom left corner. I know you can all see it. You're not blind. (Sorry if any of you actually are, but if you are, you wouldn't be able to read this anyway, which makes my apology...utterly...trivial...and pointless.) **

**JUST REVIEW, PLEASE. I'll be replying to these reviews in the first chapter of the next...installment...as I've decided to continue the story. It would just be confusing, though, because the next moment I'm starting at is, like, four-six years later. I'm still deliberating. PLEASE REVIEW, anyway!!**

**-Meri Umeko-**


	16. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

**Okay. Officially, the sequel's out! Just thought I'd make a little announcement and let y'all know.**

**Of course, it's by me - Meri Umeko - and it's called "The Beginning of the End." Sound familiar? Yeah, it's the title of chapter fourteen in this story! ...I just thought it'd be cute like that. Haha, not that it's a cute title...'cause it's not.**

**Oh, well, please read it!**

/s/4410279/1/

**There's the number for it...it wouldn't let me put in the whole URL, so just put it on the end of FanFiction's main website, 'kay?? 'KAY.  
**

**Sorry. Well...um...thank you SO much for reading GTAMTL, and...I hope you enjoy the sequel!**

**Spoiler: The genre's Drama/ROMANCE. Exciting, eh??**

**-Meri Umeko-**


End file.
